The funding formula behind Ndindi Nyoro's Sh500 school fees initiative

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has attributed the funding of his flagship Kiharu Masomo Bora education programme to strict cost control, data-driven planning and a labour-based construction model that he says allows the constituency to “do double work with the same money”.

Speaking during an interview with Jeff Koinange, Nyoro explained that the programme, which supports more than 12,000 learners across 65 public day secondary schools, is primarily financed through the Kiharu National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), but structured in a way that minimises losses common in public projects.

Under Masomo Bora, students pay Sh500 in school fees per term, receive meals in school from Monday to Saturday, and are provided with revision materials. 

On the last Friday of every month, learners are treated to chapati, a detail that has become symbolic of the programme’s emphasis on student welfare.

Nyoro said the challenge was not the size of available funds, but how they are used.

“There is no enough money anywhere, but there is also no small money. It depends on what you do with it,” he said.

The MP argued that conventional contracting models significantly reduce the value of development funds before projects are completed. 

Using an example of a Sh1 million allocation to a school, Nyoro noted that after paying VAT on construction products and contractor margins can consume nearly half the amount.

To counter this, Kiharu adopted a labour-based model, training local residents to carry out tasks such as tiling and professional painting. 

According to Nyoro, more than 300 people were trained during his first term to fill skills gaps identified in school infrastructure projects.

Nyoro said the constituency also relies heavily on standardisation, with classrooms across Kiharu built using near-identical designs.

“If you go to any classroom in Kiharu, it is almost identical, the doors, the windows. It’s cut and paste,” he said, adding that this approach reduces design costs and speeds up construction.

Before rolling out projects, the constituency mapped all infrastructure needs and prioritised them using data, a move Nyoro said helped avoid scattered, low-impact spending.

The MP said Kiharu had already invested heavily in the “hard side” of education, infrastructure, including the construction of classrooms, laboratories and even seven new secondary schools. 

He noted that all public primary schools in the constituency have tiled classrooms.

With much of the physical infrastructure in place, Nyoro said the focus had shifted to the “soft side” of education: keeping learners in school and improving learning outcomes.

That shift led to the launch of Kiharu Masomo Bora, which also includes Sh10 million allocated for revision books this year, building on Sh20 million spent in previous years, and a Sh50 million kitty for laboratories, libraries and other critical learning facilities.

“The programme covers everyone in day secondary schools, including non-Kiharu residents,” Nyoro said.

He added that additional measures, such as incentives for school heads and expanded feeding programmes, are intended to make public day schools competitive and reduce dropout rates.