Kisumu City KNUT executive secretary David Obuon said schools were shocked by the latest disbursement, claiming it works out to about Ksh95 per learner.
Obuon told Ramogi FM that the amount was “laughable” and that the idea of free primary education was being turned into a mockery.
He questioned whether the government was effectively signalling that boards of management should ask parents to co-pay to keep schools running.
“In other words, is the government communicating… that the Board of Management should be able to ask parents to co-pay, to dig deep in their pockets so that we’ll have adequate funds to run our education?” Obuon posed.
He said headteachers were now at a crossroads as schools have many needs but inadequate funding, and urged parents to pressure the government.
Obuon also linked funding gaps to concerns raised in reports about learner competency and preparedness under the new curriculum, arguing teachers should not be blamed for challenges they cannot fix without adequate resources.
“If this kind of funding is anything to go by, then nobody needs to question the teachers about what they’re doing in schools,” he said.
The KNUT official called for urgent stakeholder engagement to review the funding model and the amounts allocated to schools, saying the current situation risks pushing teachers “to the wall”.
He also questioned why the money released this term appeared to be about 30 per cent of expected capitation and said schools had not been told when the next tranche would be released.
