The Ministry of Education has finally released the delayed funds for Free Day Junior Secondary Schools for the Third Term in a move that has also seen the Ministry outline tough conditions to school managers over the management of the money.

The Ministry vowed to deal firmly with any verified cases of misappropriation of resources and the imposition of unauthorised levies.

In a communication from the Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Basic Education, Dr Belio Kipsang, the Ministry announced that each learner has been allocated Sh2,403 while Sh74,793 was disbursed to individual schools as basic allocation.

Admission numbers

Dr Kipsang has also directed school heads to ensure that all students sign school-lists per class that show their admission numbers and full names as entered in the register and the amount awarded.

“The list should be attached to the payment voucher kept in the school as per procedure and every student issued with a school official receipt for the allocation,” Dr Kipsang says in his letter.

Every school head shall be held responsible for application and utilization of funds disbursed to his or her school as the accounting officer of the school.

The schools have also been barred from charging students for lunch programmes as has been the case in almost all day JSS.

The notice dated September 2, issues a vote head breakdown for utilization of the funds by each school as per data received from National Education Management Information Systems (NEMIS).

In the breakdowns, personal emoluments take the lion’s share with an allocation of Sh43,316, school Boards of Management (BOMs) meetings and capacity building as well as rental box and telephone charges getting Sh17,919 followed by internet connectivity at Sh7,350. Further, Sh1,160 will go towards repairs and maintenance, administrative costs, co-curricular activities, travel, medical and insurance expenses.

Laboratory materials

An additional Sh1,243 will meet the cost of stationery/writing materials, Competency Based Curriculum (CBC ) practicals, assessment and laboratory materials. Electricity, water and conservancy has been allocated Sh2,352, personal emolument Sh43,316, reference materials Sh 3,856.20, repairs, maintenance and improvement Sh640; administrative costs 130, co-curricular activities Sh140, local transport and travel Sh160, medical and insurance Sh 80 per student.

The Ministry has also released the breakdown of allocations under the category of tuition with each student being given Sh 20 for capacity building, Sh366 for textbooks and supplementary readers, Sh 90 for laboratory materials, Sh240 for materials for ments and Sh400 for stationery and writing materials all totalling to Sh856.

At the same time, the Ministry warned that Junior Schools will not be allowed to charge any other fees or levies including charges for lunch programmes.

Dr Kipsang also cautioned that schools that do not acknowledge receipt of the funds within two weeks through NEMIS will be suspended from the programme indefinitely.

“All Boards of Management are expected to ensure prudence in the use of school funds and to adhere to the laid down financial regulations as stipulated in the Public Finance Management Act,” says the notice by the PS.

He further says that Junior Schools are not allowed to enter into financial commitments like hire purchase or bank loans without express written approval from the Education Cabinet Secretary.

To ensure accountability of the funds, Dr Kipsang says schools whose characteristics are found to differ with the amount of money sent from the Ministry would in future be left out of disbursements.

“Such schools will receive their funds once the correct details are provided and confirmed. The head teachers of the concerned schools shall write to the office of the Principal Secretary detailing the correct UIC, account details and emoluments.” he says.

In addition, Dr Kipsang says, respective sub county directors of education will be required to submit a list of all the concerned schools to the office of the Principal Secretary within two weeks of the disbursement.

The PS stresses that monies released for tuition must be strictly used for the purpose of procuring teaching and learning materials only.

Last month, the Ministry released Sh21.8 billion to all public institutions ahead of the school reopening set for Monday, August 26.While releasing the money, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said that the release of the funds was to facilitate a seamless resumption of school activities in the new term.

He directed school heads to ensure the funds are used accordingly to benefit the students, warning them against imposing any unauthorised fees.