The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has issued a one-week ultimatum for the government to disburse funds to schools.

Kuppet said failure to do that will force head teachers to close the institutions to avoid the wrath of students.

The union’s acting Secretary General Moses Nthurima said failure by the government to disburse the required funds has crippled operations in many institutions, making learning difficult.

“We are demanding that the government remits the capitation to schools within the next seven days. Failure to this, we shall advise the principals to close the schools,” Nthurima said.

This comes a day after Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) chairman Willy Kuria mounted pressure on the government to release funds to schools, saying principals will soon return students back home.

“We are at a crossroad. If something is not done before the end of the week, we are likely to have schools’ operations shut down,” Kuria said.

Kenya Primary School Heads Association (Kepsha) national chairman Johnston Nzioka said: “We opened this term because we thought that the money would be in the bank. So far, there isn’t any capitation in schools.”

Nthurima pointed out that closing schools is the only solution which will make the government directly respond to the needs of learners.

“When heads of institutions shut the schools, students will be sent back to their parents and the government will be able to address them directly. We have seen it work with the Gen Z and we believe that is the only language they understand,” said Nthurima.

Nthurima noted that although the government affirmed its commitment to send funds to schools before reopening, administrators are still struggling to keep learners in school.

“Two weeks since schools opened for this calendar year, the government has not disbursed capitation funds. Many schools already face serious financial challenges, including payment of suppliers, school contractors, workers and students’ accommodation,” said Nthurima.

Addressing the media in Nairobi, Nthurima also said retention of Grade 9 classes in primary schools continues to stretch facilities in JSS, while secondary schools have the facilities in excess.

“More than 12,000 classrooms purposely built for JSS in all public schools are lying idle with some schools using them as stores,” he said.

Last week, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba sought to allay fears among parents, saying the government has plans in place to ensure a smooth transition for the CBC pioneer class.

“We have constructed 13,500 classes through the Ministry of Education and Constituency Development Funds across the country,” he said.