Ruto orders Education Ministry to review school capitation by January

Although the Government increased primary school capitation from Ksh.1,400 to Ksh.2,340 per learner, he emphasised the importance of raising the capitation to improve teaching and learning in schools.

“I expect a report on my desk by January next year so that I can make a decision on which way to go,” he stated.

The President spoke during the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association Annual General Meeting and Conference, held at Sheikh Zayed Children Welfare Centre in Nyali, Mombasa, on Thursday.

He was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Julius Migos Ogamba (Education) and Ali Hassan Joho (Mining), Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi, Basic Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa, and Governors Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir (Mombasa), Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay) and Paul Otuoma (Busia).

At the same time, the President said the Government is combining primary and junior schools into a single institution to be referred to as Comprehensive Schools, and providing funding accordingly.

He directed the Ministry of Education to work with the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association to anchor the new policy in law.

He pointed out that the Basic Education Act will be amended to ensure that the new governance, staffing and financing of Comprehensive Schools rest on firm legal foundation.

President Ruto recalled that since the beginning of the year, the Government has been releasing school capitation before schools open to foster proper planning.

He explained that the Government released Ksh.44 billion in January, Ksh.23.4 billion in April and Ksh.18.5 billion in August.

“Going forward, capitation funds will be released before schools open. A school head should spend the first week of term focusing on learning and teaching, not chasing funds,” he added.

To sustain reforms in the education sector, the President said the Government is addressing longstanding teachers' challenges in the country.

He noted that in 2022, Kenya had a shortage of 116,000 teachers, with the Government recruiting 5,000 teachers every year.

However, he said, his administration made a deliberate and intentional decision to close the gap.

In the past three years, 100,000 teachers have been hired, with 20,000 more to be hired by next month, making this the largest teacher expansion in Kenya’s history.

This financial year, President Ruto disclosed, 50,000 teachers will be promoted, again making it the largest promotion of public servants in a single year.

The President further said the Government will provide an additional Ksh.4 billion to facilitate the promotion and career progression of teachers.

He pointed out that the Government has made it possible for teachers to access the Affordable Housing Programme, with 20 per cent of the housing units set aside for teachers.

On the provision of healthcare to teachers, President Ruto disclosed that 1.3 million teachers and their dependants have been covered, comprising 426,000 teachers and 887,000 dependants.

“We have expanded teachers' access to more than 4,000 health facilities countrywide from 900 facilities, under the defunct National Health Insurance Fund,” he said.

The President explained that the digitisation of the education sector will enhance transparency and accountability, noting that there have been more than 800,000 non-existent pupils in primary school registers and nearly 200 fake schools.

“We are digitising every learner's record. Money must reach classrooms with children, not registers with ghost learners,” he said.

The President set a national goal for every Kenyan child to be able to read, write and count by the time they complete Grade Three.

“We will measure progress every year, and we will publish the results, county by county and school by school, so that every parent can see how far we have come,” he said.

At the same time, President Ruto directed the Ministry of Education, working with the Teachers Service Commission, the Kenya National Examinations Council, county governments and school heads, to come up with an assessment and reporting system that will deliver this goal in the shortest time possible.

He challenged school heads to ensure the introduction of new ways of teaching and learning, improving the delivery of knowledge and skills, and turning classrooms into workshops.

“Let learners plant, build, measure, repair, present and serve. Let the school garden become a lesson in agri-business and the broken desk a lesson in carpentry. Let every learner in your school make something, fix something, and lead something before they leave,” he said.

The President pointed out that the era of teachers' strikes is a thing of the past as teachers embrace a progressive and solution-based approach.

“I promised that we are going to do our part, and we are going to meet halfway. When you make one step, we make one."

The President said quality education will enable the country to improve its human capital and leverage labour mobility opportunities.

At the same time, President Ruto told teachers to dismiss allegations of the government taking a large share of their salaries, saying the income tax (Pay As You Earn) exemption threshold was increased from Ksh.24,000 to Ksh.32,000.

This, he said, leaves teachers with an additional Ksh.8,000 that is not taxed, translating into savings of Ksh.2,000 against a deduction of Ksh.750 for the housing levy.

“The net effect is that you will get Ksh.1,250 more into your salary,” he said.

Ogamba commended the President's commitment to and support for reforms in the education sector.

“Over the past four years, for example, the Government has enhanced investments in education to nearly 30 per cent of the budget every year,” he stated.

Governor Nassir noted that President Ruto is promoting equality in the country, citing the education sector where more teachers have been hired to ensure every school has adequate staff.

CS Joho explained that he got a D grade because of historical inequalities in the education sector during his time, saying he would have received an A grade under the current reforms instituted by President Ruto.

“If you had been the President," he told the President, "I would not have a D."

“What mattered the most then was the financial ability of your parents. My parents could not pay my school fees and I used to miss classes for as long as a term.”

Speaker Kingi explained that the Government is transforming every sector of the country, citing agriculture, the blue economy and MSMEs, among others.

Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu said President Ruto will be remembered for hiring the highest number of teachers in the country's history.

He also commended the President for investing in the promotion of teachers and the timely disbursement of capitation funds.

“A Government that invests in teachers is investing in productivity. A Government that protects teachers is protecting the education system,” he said.

Kenya Comprehensive Schools Heads Association National Chair Fuad Ali thanked the President for education reforms that have transformed the sector.