Earlier this month when head teacher Oguttu went to the bank to withdraw funds disbursed by the government, he was shocked by the amount allocated to his school.
“I was expecting more than KSh100,000 [$712] only to find less than KSh20,000 [$142] in the school’s account. I was left speechless,” says Oguttu, a headteacher in a public primary school in Siaya county in Western Kenya, who only gave his first name because he said he wanted to avoid being harassed by education ministry officials.
Oguttu says he paused outside the banking hall wondering how KSh20,000 would pay for the school’s rising expenses.
“I sat down on a bench wondering how meagre funds will pay teachers hired by the school board, our cooks and security guards, pay our electricity bills and also buy food for the students,” says the headteacher.
Oguttu was referring to capitation funds the government disburses to public
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