Principals from Kakamega County have raised concerns over the delayed disbursement of funds to secondary schools by the Ministry of Education.
The school heads are alleging that operations have slowed down in the institutions following the delayed support from the government.
Boaz Adit, principal at Koyonzo Boys High School, Cosmas Nabungolo-St. Peters MumiasBoys High School, and Gerard Orina of Kakamega High School claim that they had to acquire items on credit to keep the schools up and running.
"The situation is dire. The government is not releasing funds and the parents are not settling fees. The Ministry also insists on learners being retained in schools even when their fee has not been paid," Adit was quoted by Sunday Nation on May 23, 2021, as saying.
He noted that schools are owed arrears to the tune of millions by parents.
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Adit revealed that for year ended December 2020, four classes owe Koyonzo Boys High School Ksh1.5 million in school fees arrears.
The appeal by principals come after Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced that schools will receive a Ksh15.8 billion package- money school heads say they are yet to receive.
Primary schools were allocated Ksh2.8 billion whereas secondary schools were designated Ksh13 billion.
Nabungulo appealed to the Ministry of Education to ensure timely disbursement of the funds to facilitate smooth running of the schools.
The insisted that the funds be released all at once and not in phases due to the fluctuating market prices of commodities.
The school heads also urged the government to ensure expansion of infrastructure in the schools to match the ratio of teaching and non-teaching staff.
Nabungolo argued that the expansion will also help the schools adhere to the set Covid-19 protocols.
"The more classes a school has, the more teachers, laboratory technicians, cooks and other workers," he said, adding that schools are struggling to foot employee salaries.
