NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 6 – Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has threatened a nationwide mobilisation of parents should the government not release full school capitation funds for the 2026 academic year.
Nyoro warned that failure to provide adequate funding would compel parents across Kenya to demand their children’s constitutional right to free basic education and hold the government accountable.
Speaking on the funding of public schools, the Former Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairperson accused the government of failing to adequately finance education this year, saying the amounts disbursed so far are insufficient to sustain learning institutions.
“Some of these things we are not begging for as leaders. Sometimes we are just telling the government to do what they need to do,” Nyoro said.
He added that schools have not been properly funded, and the money released so far can barely sustain operations for the current term.
“You have not funded schools in the year 2026. You’ve only sent money that can only run our schools for this term,” he said, adding that the situation was already placing schools under severe strain.
Nyoro revealed that leaders had last week demanded that the government issue a clear circular on capitation, warning that failure to do so would attract unspecified action.
“Last week, we told the government clearly that they needed to release a circular in terms of capitation, or you are going to do some unspecified actions,” he said.
He said his immediate focus would be to make stakeholders aware that government assurances on school funding do not reflect the reality on the ground.
“This first phase, we are going to make it our obligation to make all the stakeholders aware that what the government is saying is actually not true. It is incorrect,” Nyoro said.
The MP said he would closely observe the government’s conduct throughout the term, particularly whether funds would be released in a timely manner.
“We are going to observe within this term the behaviour, the demeanour, the body language of government especially in terms of sending money, not stories,” he said.
Nyoro warned that if schools do not receive full capitation by mid-term, leaders would mobilise parents across the country to demand accountability.
“By the time we are going to mid-term, we expect the government to have sent the real money for this term, failure to which we are going to mobilise all the Kenyan parents to meet what is their right,” he said.
He said parents were already heavily taxed and should not be forced to bear the cost of education due to government inaction.
“The Kenyan parents cannot continue to observe silently as the government continues to tear down and annihilate the right of learners in Kenya by not adequately funding free basic education,” Nyoro said.
Capitation delays have repeatedly affected public schools, with head teachers warning that stalled disbursements disrupt learning, increase debt, and undermine access to education.
