Schools should buy food from NCPB to stay open

School managers have sounded a grim warning of a cash crunch. They warn that unless the government quickly intervenes, their operations will be affected and they might close prematurely.

It is a complex problem comprising a delay by the government to wire money to schools, failure or inability by parents to pay school fees, high cost of commodities that is above budgets and huge debts accumulated over the years.

Any interruption to the school calendar is totally undesirable, considering that learners are still reeling from the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago. It is a shame that the government delays to release capitation funds to schools every term yet it prepares the school calendar way before the year begins.

The delay causes unnecessary strain on schools and inconveniences principals and head teachers, who are forced to find ways of keeping schools running. The administrators also lack powers to enforce payment of fees by parents who are able but fail to meet their obligation.

CS promises

For weeks, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has been promising, in vain, that the capitation will be disbursed. 

With the prevailing high cost of living, the government should support schools more for the smooth running of the education of learners. One is to revisit the oft-ignored proposal to have schools purchase food from the National Cereals and Produce Board and the Kenya National Trading Corporation. 

Besides saving schools significant amounts of money, that would also ensure that they buy high-quality food. The foodstuffs supplied by the two organisations are not only available throughout the country all year round but are also guaranteed to be fit for human consumption.

That would help to eliminate cases of schools buying in bulk during harvest times when prices are low but, due to poor storage, the food gets contaminated, risking the health and lives of learners.

The government also ought to come up with concrete long-term plans to improve infrastructure and staffing in day schools to cut education costs and change public perception.