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{
"id": 1380726,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1380726/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Ezekiel Machogu",
"speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Education",
"speaker": {
"id": 13458,
"legal_name": "Ezekiel Machogu Ombaki",
"slug": "ezekiel-machogu-ombaki"
},
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I thank the Members of Parliament for raising those Questions. As Members of Parliament are all aware, the Free Primary Education Programme was started in this country in 2003, while the Free Day Secondary School Programme was started in 2008. The Free Junior Secondary School Programme started recently with the first Grade Seven Cohort in the year 2023. The capitation rate for Free Day Secondary Education was reviewed by the Taskforce on Secondary School Fees in 2014, popularly known as the Kilemi Mwiria Taskforce. The Taskforce was established to review the cost of secondary school education which had grown astronomically, and a number of Kenyans were unable to afford it. There were schools which charged as high as Ksh200,000. Therefore, it was necessary for the Government to come in and provide guidelines. It is, indeed, true that the approved capitation grant for secondary schools is Ksh22,244 per learner. For boarding schools, the amount is supplemented by household contributions that parents pay as boarding fees, which in national and extra-county schools is Ksh53,000 and Ksh45,000 in county boarding schools. We broke down the figure of Ksh22,244, which is supposed to be paid per learner for secondary schools, as shown in the Schedule. The Schedule indicates the vote head and the amount. The allocation for learning and teaching materials and exams was Ksh4,144. The amount for repairs, maintenance and improvement was Ksh5,000. We allocated Ksh9,400 to local travel, administrative costs (electricity, water and conservancy). We allocated Ksh1,500 to activity fees and Ksh2,000 to medical and insurance. That brings it to a total of Ksh22,244. For the last five years, the capitation given has fallen short of the approved rate leading to under-funding of our schools. While school enrolment continues to grow on account of the Government’s 100 per cent transition policy, the funding has not increased proportionally. The enrolment has been growing by 5.71 per cent annually, while the average percentage increase in Government funding is 4.08 per cent annually. In the circumstances, the Ministry is compelled to divide the available amount with the number of learners, which has been increasing yearly. This results in capitations that are lower than the approved rate. To illustrate this, there is a table attached indicating the amounts from 2018 up to 2022. For the Financial Year 2022/2023, we were supposed to receive Ksh82,088,723,744, whereas the amount approved in the Budget by this House was only Ksh64,421,865,698, meaning that we had a deficit of Ksh17,666,873,584. Rather than giving The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
}