Caleb Amisi: Capitation funds not reaching needy students
By William Muthama, September 8, 2025Saboti Member of Parliament Caleb Amisi has raised concerns over the school capitation system, warning that funds meant to support needy students are not effectively reaching parents and pupils.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, September 8, 2025, Amisi said the biggest audit that should be done is to determine whether the capitation system has actually served its purpose.
He noted that in many schools, parents are still paying fees as they did before the introduction of capitation. “If you go to all these schools, you’ll still find parents paying as much as they used to pay even before the introduction of capitation,” Amisi said.
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Amisi explained that delays and bureaucratic challenges often prevent the funds from reaching those who need them most.
“There is a system breakdown. The money is there, but it’s not trickling down to parents,” he said.
He added that this failure defeats the purpose of providing affordable education for needy students. “It was supposed to make it easier for the poor to access education, but parents are still being forced to pay, and students are sometimes sent home,” Amisi added.
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Call for reform
The MP emphasised that Kenya’s claim of offering free primary and secondary education is misleading if the capitation funds do not relieve the financial burden on families.
“Is it really true that we offer free primary and secondary education? No. The capitation system should be audited to ensure it actually benefits the parents and students it is meant for,” Amisi said.
Amisi urged the government to urgently review the distribution and management of capitation funds, ensuring transparency and accountability.
He warned that unless the system is fixed, the intended impact of making education accessible to all children will remain unfulfilled.
The MP’s warning comes a day after Secretary Julius Bitok said that public schools will start receiving capitation funds by the end of next week, following weeks of delays due to a nationwide verification of student enrolment data.
The ministry’s announcement follows Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report to Parliament on July 16 that unscrupulous officials had exploited gaps in data to siphon Ksh3.7 billion in capitation funds, revealing that 33 non-existent schools received the money over a span of four years.