Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Willie Kuria has proposed for a review of the capitation for students to help address the financial crisis in schools.

Kuria said the last review of the funding by the government was done back in 2017 and due to the increased price of commodities the schools are running into huge debts.

Kuria said the government through the ministry of education should convene a stakeholders meeting soonest possible to discuss the matter pointing out that the financial crunch cripple the learning in the schools.

“The Sh22,000 capitation being given by the government was set about seven years back and over this period the prices of commodities have been going up but no extra money is given,” remarked Kuria.

Further he said after making the deductions stipulated by the ministry for infrastructure, activities among others, there is very little that is left to facilitate the running of the schools.

“We need to sit down and evaluate the amount of money each student spends in school per year to see if what the government is giving is enough and what can be done to bridge the gap,” said Kuria.

“The money paid by the student cannot be enough to manage the schools and pay the debts,” he added.

Kuria said this is an issue, which required urgent attention warning that if it is not addressed, learning in the secondary schools might come to a halt.

He added that all the school have accrued huge debts and the delayed release of the capitation by the government is only making the situation worse.

He pointed out that last years, there was a deficit of Sh7,000 per student in the money disbursed by the government and this saw the institutions close the year with unsettled bills.

“The debts keep on pilling because we are not getting enough money and we are just doing the bare minimum such as buying food just to keep the children in school and keep the institutions afloat,” remarked Kuria.

Further he said there being no form one intake this year might make things worse as during the admissions, they are able to raise money to offset some of the debts.

He added that the institutions, which solely rely on capitation, are now on standstill because they are not able to buy the learning materials.

This being the third week after the opening of the first term, he urges the government to haste in releasing the money for capitation adding that even the suppliers have been adamant in making any deliveries due to the unsettled debts.

“We are now being forced to send the students home so that their parents can pay something so that we can keep the schools afloat,” said Kuria.

“We are hoping that the money will be released soon and it should also be the 50 percent to help us run through the first term smoothly,” he added.