Cabinet has approved an Education Grant Policy to reduce existing inequities and provide an efficient and equitable funding mechanism.

The goal is to ensure that schools and learners from different socio-economic backgrounds have access to adequate resources for full participation in education.

The Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture introduced access to free education at the primary level in 2013 and in secondary education since 2016.

This means all learners should attend school even if their parents cannot afford any contributions.

The ministry then saw the need to implement a policy to legalise the funding policy, which previously was based on the availability of funds.

The grant funding policy is more detailed and expands on the additional needs of the learner.

The Executive Director of the Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture, Edda Bohn, said, "Now that the policy has been approved by Cabinet, and it details the actual breakdown to ensure efficient, effective, and equitable funding mechanisms, we have in the past done the basic allocations, and this policy takes into consideration other areas and needs."

The funding policy formula has four elements, which include the learner's basic needs, individual learner characteristics, extracurricular activities at school, and school infrastructure.

Last year, Member of Parliament Patience Masua brought to attention the unsanitary state of the hostels in which learners live.

When asked if the ministry's grant funding will address hostels, the Deputy Executive Director clarified that infrastructure development is driven by maintenance, and the National Standards and Performance Indicators policies are the ones that focus on infrastructure.

"And the entire effort of transforming education for the better and reinventing education to be fit for purpose has led to an infrastructure development plan. The ministry is fully cognizant of the backlog and the appalling conditions in hostels and some of the schools, and all efforts are put in place to find the resources and to allocate them according to the plan."

The Deputy ED said this will get the ministry close to reaching the equity goal that it needs.

Bohn also urged members of communities to take ownership of creating a better environment in schools for learners.