CS Ogamba Meets KUPPET as Schools Face KSh6,000 Capitation Funding Crisis
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has held talks with officials of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) as concerns mount over a major shortfall in government funding to secondary schools.
Ogamba met KUPPET’s National Executive Board at Jogoo House on Thursday, September 3, for consultations on issues affecting teachers and the delivery of quality basic education.
The meeting comes at a critical time for schools, with KUPPET warning that institutions are struggling to meet essential operational costs because they have not received the full statutory capitation allocation.
According to the teachers’ union, schools have so far received KSh16,000 per learner, against the statutory annual capitation of KSh22,244. This leaves a deficit of about KSh6,244 per learner.
The union has raised concerns that the funding gap could place additional pressure on parents, with school heads potentially being forced to seek money from families to cover basic expenses.
Speaking after Thursday’s meeting, Ogamba said the discussions covered both teacher welfare and the broader challenge of ensuring learners have access to quality education.
“This afternoon, I held a consultative meeting with the National Executive Board of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers at the Ministry’s Jogoo House B offices,” Ogamba said.
He added that the discussions addressed “several issues pertinent to teacher welfare and to the enhancement of access to quality basic education.”
KUPPET raises alarm over school funding
The talks came only days after KUPPET officials threatened industrial action over the capitation shortfall.
The union has argued that schools are increasingly struggling to pay for essential services and supplies, including food, electricity, water, learning materials and other day-to-day operational requirements.
KUPPET Executive Secretary Charles Otiende, speaking in Vihiga on August 30, warned that the financial pressure could eventually be transferred to parents if the government fails to bridge the funding gap.
The concerns are particularly significant as schools enter the final term of the academic year, when institutions face additional demands as they prepare learners for national examinations.
For school heads, the funding squeeze presents a difficult balancing act: maintaining essential services while operating with substantially less money than the statutory allocation.
Threat of disruption
KUPPET’s warning of possible industrial action has added pressure on the Ministry of Education to address the funding dispute.
The union has maintained that inadequate capitation is not only a financial issue but could also affect the quality and continuity of learning if schools are unable to meet their basic operational requirements.
Thursday’s meeting therefore provides a potential avenue for negotiations between the government and teachers’ representatives before the dispute escalates further.
However, the Education Ministry has not, in the statement cited above, announced whether additional capitation will immediately be released or provided a specific timeline for resolving the funding gap.
The outcome of the consultations could therefore prove significant for thousands of secondary schools as they navigate the final stretch of the academic year.
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