President William Ruto has announced that every school and institution that won the 2026 national Kenya Music Festival will receive KSh5 million to improve infrastructure supporting music and creative arts.
Speaking during the 98th Kenya Music Festival at the State Lounge in Bungoma on Friday, August 14, Ruto said the allocation would help schools and colleges build facilities and strengthen the foundation for developing young talent.
“There are over 30 schools and colleges participating in this event today. We want to say congratulations. The Ministry of Education will provide five million shillings for every institution and every school that has participated here, so that you can improve on some of the infrastructure that will support these creatives going into the future,” Ruto said.
Ruto Announces KSh5 Million for Kenya Music Festival Winners, Full Government Funding for Arts Festivals
The President directed Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and his team to begin making arrangements for the allocation to the institutions that took part in the national festival.
At the same time, Ruto announced that the government will fully fund music, drama and film festivals, saying the events will no longer be treated as extracurricular activities.
He said the government had made a deliberate decision to ensure that learners pursuing creative arts receive the same recognition and support as those in other education pathways.
“I want to assure Prof Ngala that going forward, this festival, our children who are in the art and creative space, will have a budget line like all other pathways going into the future,” Ruto said.
He said the Kenya Music Festival, as well as drama and film festivals, would now receive government funding because creative arts had become part of the country’s curriculum.
“And that this music festival, the festival on drama and film, will now going into the future be funded by the government of Kenya because this is no longer extracurricular, this is squarely in the curricula of Kenya, and we are developing talents and future professionals from this pathway,” he said.
Ruto said the decision was informed by the recognition that children have different abilities and talents, and that no education pathway should be considered superior to another.
“The children who are good in mathematics are as good as the children who are good in art. And all of them must be given an equal chance,” he said.
The President said the government would ensure adequate funding for all pathways as it recruits teachers and plans future education budgets.
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National Talent Search
Ruto also announced plans to establish the Kenyan National Talent Search, which will identify and develop talent in music, comedy, acting, poetry, film, dance, sports and other fields throughout the year.
He said the programme would be implemented by the State Department for Youth in collaboration with the Creative Economy Office, with support from the Sports Fund.
“We want to discover and develop talent,” Ruto said, adding that the programme should be rolled out across all parts of the country.
The President proposed Kenya Beyond 2030 as the theme for the inaugural National Talent Search, saying young people should be given an opportunity to use their creativity to imagine and express their vision for Kenya’s future.
He said school creative events would also adopt the theme from next year.
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Science and Innovation Winners to Get State Recognition
Ruto also announced that winners of the annual Kenya Science and Engineering Fair will, from next year, receive State recognition similar to that given to top performers in music and other creative fields.
The President said Kenyan scientists and innovators had for years participated in competitions and developed groundbreaking projects without receiving the same level of national recognition.
He noted that schools have held annual science and innovation competitions since 1962, but winners had not been given an opportunity to showcase their work at a State event.
“Effective next year, the Ministry of Education must bring the winners of the annual Kenya Science and Engineering Fair to an event, a State event like the one we have here for music and all the others,” Ruto said.
Ruto said he wanted to meet the young scientists and innovators, see their inventions and listen to their ideas, saying they play an important role in shaping Kenya’s future.
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