Raila Slams Ruto Gov’t Over Failure To Disburse School Funding
Raila Odinga, the leader of the One Kenya coalition party, has criticized the government led by President William Ruto, claiming that it has not fully distributed the funds intended for students in public schools.
Mr. Odinga, in a communication to media outlets on Tuesday, reacted to President Ruto’s New Year speech wherein Ruto asserted that his government had raised the funding for education.
The leader of the opposing party labeled the statements made by the Head of State as a blatant falsehood, particularly considering they were made just a week before the official reopening of schools nationwide.
As per Mr. Odinga, the government allocated Ksh.64,421,850,160.01 to secondary schools for the third term of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, which was less than the initially planned amount of Ksh82,088,723,744 for the 3,690,376 students.
He mentioned that this situation results in a shortfall of Ksh.17,666,873,584 that is owed to the institutions, casting uncertainty over the future of 794,231 students.
He further mentioned that, during the 2023/2024 fiscal period, the current Kenyan Kwanza administration has disbursed just Ksh.3,327.87 per child, which falls significantly short of the Ksh.22,244 allocation established by the prior government back in 2018.
“Ruto owes secondary schools a total of Ksh.69,807,632,165. It is not even clear whether the paltry 14 percent said to have been disbursed has actually been discharged. There is a big disconnect between what the government says and what is actually implemented,” he stated.
“It is not true that the Kenya Kwanza administration has enhanced any funding for free education. To ensure that every Kenyan child has a right to access free and compulsory basic education and that all students in secondary school are funded to complete their basic education, the government of Kenya began the Free Day Secondary Education program in 2008, with the granting of capitation per learner.”
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He added: “As schools await opening, most parents are struggling with the reality of increased school fees of between Ksh.40,000 and Ksh.90,000 in the fee structures they have received from government secondary schools. The school fees bill is way beyond the reach of most parents.”
Mr. Odinga further mentioned that as government representatives travel extensively and display their wealth on social media, educators in public schools endure meager salaries, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequate resources. This circumstance is anticipated to negatively impact students as well.
The Azimio pointman termed the failure by the administration to disburse education funding as the result of “corruption and deliberate and harmful political choices,” further questioning the criteria behind prioritizing the affordable housing project at the expense of children’s future.
He currently seeks immediate release of the outstanding funds, while also encouraging parents, educators, and school administrations to insist on receiving the complete education funding.
“We appeal to religious leaders and civil society organizations to take up the cause of our children, call out the Kenya Kwanza administration, and force it to fund the future by paying school fees,” he said.
“I instruct our members of parliament and county assemblies to prioritize basic and higher education spending. Our legislators must embark on active steps to force the government to release public education funding, both at the Primary and secondary levels before schools resume. Money must reach schools ahead of Monday.”
Raila Slams Ruto Gov’t Over Failure To Disburse School Funding
