The Ministry of Education and Sports has received requests from various regions across the country to take over approximately 200 community and non-governmental organization (NGO) schools, converting them into government-aided primary and secondary schools.
Officials from the ministry presented this proposal to the Budget Committee of Parliament, indicating that the takeover of 100 secondary and 100 primary schools would require an estimated cost of sh300 million per secondary school and sh64 million per primary school.
The committee report on the National Budget Framework Paper for the financial years 2024/25 to 2028/29, approved by the House on January 31, 2024, outlined the financial implications of this initiative. Committee Chairperson Patrick Isiagi Opolot, who is also the MP for Kachumbala County, informed the House that the Ministry of Education would require sh30.2 billion for adopting 100 secondary schools and sh6.4 billion for grant-aiding 100 primary schools.
In response, Parliament endorsed the committee’s recommendation for the Ministry of Finance to allocate an additional sh36.6 billion to the Ministry of Education to support the grant-aiding of both primary and secondary schools.
The capitation grant, which is an annual commitment from the government, supports learners’ education in primary and secondary schools under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) programs. The government allocates over sh333 billion annually for capitation grants, including funds for UPE, USE, skills development, and special needs education.
The allocated funds cover three school terms per year and depend on the enrollment of learners. Under UPE, the government provides sh20,000 per pupil per year, sh58,300 per term for O’level, and sh90,000 for A’level. Schools with special needs students under UPE receive sh22,000 per child per year, while those under USE receive sh192,500 per learner.
