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Public schools will receive capitation funds before learners resume for the second term, President William Ruto has said.
Speaking on Friday during the Kenya National Drama Festival State Concert at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto said the Ministry of Education already has Sh23 billion meant for capitation.
He ordered the Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba, to ensure that the funds reflect in school accounts within the next two weeks.
“He already has Sh23 billion with him to transmit to all our schools by next week, so that a week ahead of time, the money will be in school before our children report back for second term,” said the Head of State.
This is the second time in months the government is releasing funds early after the Ministry released Sh44 billion capitation early in January ahead of the first term opening of schools.
The second term is expected to begin from April 27 to July 31, 2026, with a half-term break set between June 24 and June 28, 2026.
Ruto pledged to continue the trend, emphasising the government’s plan to institutionalise advance funding for schools.
During the concert, Dr Ruto also announced plans by his administration to mainstream the drama and film activities in schools into government budgeting.
“I want to say that this now becomes a budgetary item in the MoE to make sure that there is predictable funding to make sure that this, having been mainstreamed into Competency Based Education as a learning pathway, be adequately funded,” he noted.
He added: “I know in the past, our kids went to school and waited for computation for weeks and months, but we are changing that because we want to make it easy for our teachers to make sure that they have the resources to teach our children.”
At the same time, he announced that the State, through the Public Service Commission, has approved the staff structure of the creative economy to “bring in expertise” into government to help drive its vision for industry.
“As a government, we have recognised that drama and film are not merely co-curricular activities, they are integral to holistic developments, equipping Kenya’s youth with the skills, creativity and confidence needed to thrive in the opportunities and challenges in the 21st century,” said the President.
He also announced the government plan to digitise the drama and film festival and has introduced the “Somaplay” program that he said will market and connect schools to the global industry.
“Next year, we will roll it out to the regional levels and thereafter to the grassroots and extend it to the annual science and engineering fair,’ he stated, noting that the State is migrating collection and distribution of music royalties to e-citizen to minimise corruption.
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Public schools will receive capitation funds before learners resume for the second term, President William Ruto has said.
Speaking on Friday during the Kenya National Drama Festival State Concert at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto said the Ministry of Education already has Sh23 billion meant for capitation.
He ordered the Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba, to ensure that the funds reflect in school accounts within the next two weeks.
“He already has Sh23 billion with him to transmit to all our schools by next week, so that a week ahead of time, the money will be in school before our children report back for second term,” said the Head of State.
This is the second time in months the government is releasing funds early after the Ministry released Sh44 billion capitation
early in January
ahead of the first term opening of schools.
The second term is expected to begin from April 27 to July 31, 2026, with a half-term break set between June 24 and June 28, 2026.
Ruto pledged to continue the trend, emphasising the government’s plan to institutionalise advance funding for schools.
During the concert, Dr Ruto
also announced plans
by his administration to mainstream the drama and film activities in schools into government budgeting.
“I want to say that this now becomes a budgetary item in the MoE to make sure that there is predictable funding to make sure that this, having been mainstreamed into Competency Based Education as a learning pathway, be adequately funded,” he noted.
He added: “I know in the past, our kids went to school and waited for computation for weeks and months, but we are changing that because we want to make it easy for our teachers to make sure that they have the resources to teach our children.”
At the same time, he announced that the State, through the Public Service Commission, has approved the staff structure of the creative economy to “bring in expertise” into government to help drive its vision for industry.
“As a government, we have recognised that drama and film are not merely co-curricular activities, they are integral to holistic developments, equipping Kenya’s youth with the skills, creativity and confidence needed to thrive in the opportunities and challenges in the 21st century,” said the President.
He also announced the government plan to digitise the drama and film festival and has introduced the “Somaplay” program that he said will market and connect schools to the global industry.
“Next year, we will roll it out to the regional levels and thereafter to the grassroots and extend it to the annual science and engineering fair,’ he stated, noting that the State is migrating collection and distribution of music royalties to e-citizen to minimise corruption.
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By Okumu Modachi