Kepsha: Release primary schools' cash in time

Kenya Primary School Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) Chairperson Johnson Nzioka and other officials at Sheikh Zayed in Mombasa County on Monday 6th November 2023. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Kenya Primary School Heads Association (Kepsha) has asked the government to release free primary education funds before schools reopen in January.

The school heads said this would ease the operation of schools as delayed disbursement of the funds has been the biggest problem.

"Ensure timely release of the Free Primary Education (FPE) fund preferably before the opening of the schools to ease the operations of schools," they said in their resolutions after a week-long annual conference in Mombasa County.

While reading the resolutions, Nzioka thanked the government for affirming the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and 2:6:3:3 education structure.

"We want to thank the government for agreeing to verify the eligibility of current primary heads to serve as administrators for comprehensive schools under Junior Secondary School guidelines," said Kepsha National Chairperson Johnson Nzioka.

However, Kepsha asked the government to promote primary school heads who have acquired higher education qualifications.

During the five-day conference held at Sheikh Zayed Children's Welfare Centre, the teachers thanked the government for agreeing to promote primary head teachers to job group C5 because of the added responsibilities.

The members recommended that Kepsha should review its constitution to align it with the ongoing restructuring of Basic Education and other emerging needs.

They want Kepsha to join the Africa Confederation of Principals and the International Confederation of Principals to foster a robust exchange of knowledge and continuous learning.