Funds allocated to pupils in free education set for review

Allocation of funds to pupils under the Free Primary Education programme will be reviewed for the first time since introduction of the project more than a decade ago.

Policy makers say the current allocation of Sh1,020 per pupil per year shows that the government is out of touch with reality.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi on Wednesday said that a task force was working on a report that will determine new allocations based on an increase in the cost of living, textbooks and other learning materials since inception of the programme in 2003.

“There is need to review, but I don’t want to pre-empt the talks now. We would like to get the report from the taskforce before we discuss the matter,” said Prof Kaimenyi.

The taskforce is led by former assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria. It will also lay ground for a review of the secondary school fee per pupil. Experts argued that the cost of living, and books, has increased exponentially since the launch of the programme.

The situation worsened last year with the introduction of value added tax (VAT) on a range of factory inputs and consumer goods.

MPs supported a motion to triple the allocation to Sh3,060 per pupil, a move that could have increased the budget for the free primary education (FPE) to Sh26.7 billion from Sh8.9 billion.

READ: MP calls for tripling of FPE allocation per pupil

The Treasury last October introduced a 16 per cent sales tax on books, and book publishers have since increased retail prices by 14 per cent.

The purchasing power of schools has been eroded with the annual government allocation remaining the same. Many headteachers have responded to the inadequacy by buying fewer books and asking capable parents to support their children.

The funds are usually sent to schools in one tranche but based on two different accounts — the general purpose account (tuition) and the Simba account.

Money in the first account, Sh670 per pupil, is for buying textbooks, instruction materials and facilitation of internal examinations.

Textbooks and exercise books take up a big chunk of the money, allocated Sh48 and Sh72 respectively in the 2013 second term disbursement.

Supplementary reference material, pencils and dusters/chalk were allocated Sh21, Sh14 and Sh4 respectively per child.

Simba account, which gets Sh350 per child per year, supports repairs, local transport for teachers and pupils as well as workers’ pay. Not only are FPE funds credited into school accounts late but they have also proved inadequate.

Since the start of the programme in January 2003, enrolment has increased from 5.9 million to over 10 million pupils, a 69.4 per cent rise.

Candidates who sat for KCPE in 2003 were 481,000 compared to last year’s 839,759, a 74.5 per cent increase.