The National Treasury has set aside Sh17.4 billion to finance the provision of laptops to class one pupils according to the Budget Estimates unveiled on Wednesday.
Some 1.2 million pupils are set to benefit from this project should a case filed at the High Court challenging award of the tender to supply the laptops conclude favorably. The case is scheduled for hearing from June 30.
Besides the laptops, part of the money will be used to finance digital content, train teachers and roll out computer laboratories for Class Four to Eight pupils in all public schools.
The education sector is among the winners in the estimates tabled in Parliament after it was allocated Sh76 billion, the third largest after infrastructure and Interior departments.
And if all goes as planned, the same number of pupils will get laptops in the next two financial years.
According to the recently released economic survey report for 2014, enrolment in Standard One increased by 1.8 per cent to 1.6 million last year, with the number of boys and girls increasing by 2.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. The number of pupils in both public and private primary schools increased by two per cent, from 10 million to 10.2 million. Out of the total number, about 8.1 million are enrolled inpublic schools.
The Treasury also allocated Sh13.5 billion to finance free primary education that will raise the capitation per child from the current Sh1,020 to Sh1,356.
Likewise, capitation per student in day secondary schools will increase from the current Sh10,262 to Sh13,652 after Sh28.2 billion was allocated for subsidised day secondary education.
Some Sh7.2 billion has been allocated for technical training institutes while Sh55 billion is to go to university education.
Sh165.6 billion was set aside for teachers' salaries.
It is expected that the resources.allocated will translate to an increase in enrolment in primary schools to 9.4 million in the next financial year, with the numbers expected to increase to 9.6 million in the 2016/17 financial year.
Adapted from Daily Nation
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