NAIROBI, Kenya — Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has warned that parents across the country could be mobilised to protest over what he described as inadequate and poorly explained government capitation to secondary schools.
Nyoro accused the government of failing to clearly outline how much funding each learner is entitled to receive, cautioning that the persistent shortfalls could force parents to shoulder the burden through additional school levies.
The MP raised concerns over the recent disbursement of Sh26 billion to day secondary schools, saying there was no transparent breakdown showing how the funds would be utilised.
He questioned whether the allocation would be used to clear what he claimed is Sh22.5 billion in unpaid capitation arrears from the previous year.
“By the time we are going to the mid-term, we expect the government to have sent real money for this term. Failure to which, we are going to mobilise all Kenyan parents to demand what is their right,” Nyoro said.
Figures cited by the legislator show that during Term One of 2025, the expected capitation per learner stood at Sh11,122, but schools received only Sh8,818, leaving a deficit of Sh2,304 per student.
In Term Two, the expected allocation was Sh6,673, but only Sh3,471 was released, resulting in a shortfall of Sh3,202 per learner.
For Term Three, learners were expected to receive Sh4,449, but the actual disbursement amounted to Sh3,095, leaving a gap of Sh1,354.
Nyoro warned that if the same funding pattern continues into 2026, school principals will have little choice but to pass the deficits on to parents — a move he said risks locking learners from poor households out of school and undermining gains made under free secondary education.
