Education budget crisis expected after significant budget cuts
Countless students in elementary, middle, and high schools are encountering a crisis due to a staggering reduction of Sh62. 01 billion in the Education budget.
Reports presented to Members of Parliament indicate a looming crisis resulting from decreased funding for school meal programs, oversight of examinations, and the building of laboratories and classrooms for junior secondary institutions.
In a meeting with the Education committee led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok disclosed to MPs that the National Treasury made these cuts independently without engaging with the department.
‘No consultations’
He specifically cited Sh23 billion that the Treasury cut from the initial Budget Policy Statement passed by the National Assembly in February.
“I want to confirm that it is the National Treasury that reduced this allocation without consultations. We gave them the data [from the] National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) but with their own reasons they decided to reduce the allocation. They even reduced from what has been given in the BPS,” he said.
“The National Treasury need to answer this because some of this reduction cannot be explained, because we did our part in terms of the estimates and they went and did their own things without consultation.”
He added: “The reductions that have been received were done by Treasury unilaterally without engaging us. Whether we are having free primary and free secondary I think the answer is pure we have free primary and secondary although there are a few things need to be addressed.”
According to documents submitted to the MPs, the Free Primary Education vote has been reduced by Sh1.817 billion, with allocations cut from Sh9.7 billion to Sh7.9 billion, affecting 656,512 learners.
Of the Sh1.847 billion reduction, Sh1.2 billion comes from the Free Primary Education (FPE) capitation, while the remaining Sh700 million affects the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA).
Special-needs learners
The original Sh9.725 billion was intended to support 6.2 million learners funded at Sh1,420 per child, including a top-up capitation for 117,565 special-needs learners (SNE) who receive Sh2,300 each, and boarding fees for 39,056 SNE learners at Sh11,650 each.
For Free Day Secondary School Education (FDSSE), the shortfall amounts to Sh21.85 billion after the allocation was reduced from Sh76.73 billion to Sh54.88 billion, affecting 982,197 students under the program.
The Sh76.73 billion capitation was meant to finance 3.2 million secondary school students for Sh22,244 per learner and 9,243 SNE learners for Sh50,772 per learner.
In Junior School Education, the deficit amounts to Sh18.8 billion after the vote was reduced from Sh49.72 billion to Sh30.92 billion. This funding was expected to finance 3.28 million junior secondary school students at Sh15,042 per learner and 7,686 SNE learners at Sh50,772 per learner.
Bitok explained that the capitation required under junior school education for grades Seven, Eight and Nine is Sh49.7 billion to cater for an enrollment of 3.2 million learners in the 3rd term of 2025 and 3.3 million learners in the 1st and 2nd terms of 2026.
“Under the recurrent budget for the financial year 2025/2026, notable deviations between the proposed budget estimates and the ceilings provided in the approved Budget Policy statement. The Primary education program recorded a reduction of Sh1.847 billion,” he said.
He added: “Secondary Education program experienced a significant reduction amounting to Sh16.126 billion.
“The Primary cause of this deviations is the loss of capitation funding for junior school targeting Sh14.742 billion. Quality assurance and Standards program reflected a reduction of Ksh.5.327 billion.”
School feeding
The school feeding programme, which aims to provide meals to 2.6 million needy learners in the arid and semi-arid lands and urban slum areas for 180 days, has been slashed by Sh4.21 billion, from Sh7.21 billion to Sh3 billion.
“The ministry will not be able to achieve the target as a priority of the government,” Bitok stated.
The entire budget of Sh12.97 billion required for school examination and invigilation has been removed.
