Financial estimates not child-friendly, says organisation
By Samuel Kariuki, June 15, 2023
The 2023/24 financial year budget estimates being tabled today by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u in Parliament is not children friendly, a section of child-based civil society organisations have warned.
While pointing at gaps in budget estimates for children’s needs, the organisations, under the umbrella body of Joining Forces For All Children, faulted the National Treasury for not allocating adequate funds to some sectors which are of concern to the children. Under the School Feeding Programme, the non-governmental bodies noted that the government failed to specify the allocation of food per day per child, the number of children who have been targeted to benefit from the feeding programme and the period for which they will have free meals in schools.
Budget proposal
In the budget proposal, the Ministry of Education allocated Sh3.9 billion shillings to the programme where pupils in targeted schools in Arid and Semi-Arid areas (ASALs) and urban slums are to get hot meals for 195 days at a rate of Sh10 per learner.
Despite a proposed allocation of Sh12.4 billion for Free Primary Education which equates to Sh1420 per learner, the NGOs said that allocations did not factor in education needs for children who live in informal settlements and attend Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training (APBET) schools.