Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has met officials from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) as concerns over inadequate government funding to schools continue to grow.
Ogamba held talks with the union’s National Executive Board at Jogoo House in Nairobi on Thursday, September 3.
The meeting came at a time when schools are struggling with what KUPPET says is a major shortage in government capitation.
The two sides discussed teacher welfare as well as challenges affecting the delivery of basic education.
KUPPET has been pushing the government to address a KSh6,000 gap in the amount allocated to schools for each learner.
According to the union, schools have so far received KSh16,000 per learner against the annual capitation of KSh22,244.
The union has warned that the funding shortage is putting school heads in a difficult position as they try to keep schools running.
Schools have to meet expenses such as food, electricity, water, learning materials and other day-to-day needs, even as they deal with the shortage of funds.
KUPPET Threatens Strike
The meeting came only days after KUPPET officials threatened to call a strike in secondary schools across the country if the capitation issue was not addressed.
The union has warned that the shortage could eventually leave parents carrying more of the financial burden, as schools look for money to cover basic expenses.
KUPPET Executive Secretary Charles Otiende raised the issue during a meeting in Vihiga on August 30, saying the funding problem was increasingly being passed on to parents.
He warned that schools could be forced to ask parents for additional payments to keep their operations going.
The concerns have become more pressing as schools enter the final term of the academic year, when institutions are also preparing learners for national examinations.
Ogamba did not give details on any immediate solution to the capitation shortfall following the meeting.
However, the talks gave the ministry and KUPPET an opportunity to discuss the funding problem alongside other issues affecting teachers and schools.
The union is now expected to continue pushing for the government to address the KSh6,000 per-learner gap as schools work to meet their expenses in the final term.
