Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School Plunged into Crisis After Receiving KSh 164 Government Capitation

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Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School Plunged into Crisis After Receiving KSh 164 Government Capitation

Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School in Seme Sub-county is facing a critical financial shortfall after receiving an unexpectedly low government capitation of just KSh 164 for the second term of 2025. The disbursement—KSh 84 for tuition and KSh 80 for operations—was intended to support the learning needs of 627 pupils and 13 teachers, sparking outrage and concern among school officials and the community.

Located in the heart of Seme, where education is widely viewed as a vital pathway out of poverty, Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School has found itself at a financial standstill. Head teacher Charles Onyimbo expressed disbelief upon receiving the notification from the school’s bank.

“I thought it could be a bank charge. Then I made a call, and a lady responded. When I asked her what that really was, she told me that that was the amount of money that the government had sent to our account,” Onyimbo recounted.

This amount, it was later confirmed, was not a clerical or banking error but the actual disbursement authorized by the national government.

The school, which serves more than 600 pupils, is one of many affected in the region. Another institution in the same sub-county reportedly received a total of only KSh 4,000. The incident highlights wider concerns about the consistency and adequacy of funding for public schools.

“As a PA chair, I’m also stunned. The only appeal to the government is that they should bail us out of this as soon as yesterday,” said Jesse Otieno, chairperson of the Parent-Teacher Association.

Public primary schools are traditionally funded through a capitation model based on a 50:30:20 ratio across the three academic terms. However, according to Onyimbo, the model has not held up. In the first term of 2025, Nduru Kadero received only KSh 50,000 for tuition and KSh 48,000 for operations—roughly 25% of what was expected under the standard model. Authorities had promised to resolve the shortfall, but no additional funds were released.

“So our imagination was, the 50,000 and the 48,000 was just 25%, which was to be subsidised at the end of the term, which didn’t come,” Onyimbo explained.

Festus Omollo, chairperson of the school’s Board of Management, warned of the dire consequences if the situation is not urgently addressed.

“As the board of management, we cannot run the school without funds since it was said that it is a free primary learning. Now what is happening today I don’t think whether we can make it unless the government chips in in time,” he said.

The startling underfunding of Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School and other institutions in Seme raises serious questions about the transparency and reliability of the national education funding model. School officials and community leaders are now calling for immediate government intervention to ensure continuity of learning and safeguard the right to free primary education for all pupils.

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Nduru Kadero Comprehensive School Plunged into Crisis After Receiving KSh 164 Government Capitation