The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education has raised questions over the reduction of capitation funds for secondary schools from Ksh22,244 per year to Ksh16,900, as confirmed by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi.
CS Mbadi, on Thursday, July 24, appeared before the committee alongside the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Julius Ogamba, to discuss broad and shared concerns affecting the education sector.
The two CSs maintained that the current budget cannot sustain free primary and secondary education.
Why Capitation for schools has been reduced- CS Mbadi
Mbadi noted that the Ksh22,244 capitation for secondary school learners is high, citing the rising number of students.
“Currently, learners are provided with tuition and operational costs at the rate of Ksh1,420 for primary education. For junior school, it is Ksh15,042 per child, and the per capita allocation for senior secondary school is Ksh22,244,” said the CS.
“However, due to constraints in the fiscal space and other emerging priorities in the education sector, updating these rates might be untenable. We are getting more children in our schools, and the revenue performance is not increasing at a faster pace. The rates may look low, but again, we have to operate within the fiscal framework.”
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He, at the same time, highlighted that the government will consider reviewing the allocations should revenue performance improve.
CS Ogamba, on his part, said that capitation amounts for the last four to five years have never been fully met in the Ministry of Education’s budget allocations due to the growing student population.
“The ministry has taken steps to ensure timely disbursement of capitation at a ratio of 50:20:30 across the first, second, and third terms,” he said.
In the 2025/26 budget, the education sector took the lion’s share with approximately Ksh700 billion.
The National Treasury said that the allocation would fund teachers’ salaries and the recruitment of interns, support free basic education, TVET training, the junior secondary transition, capitation, school feeding, and exam subsidies.
University Layoffs and Closure of Satellite Campuses?
Meanwhile, CS Mbadi has also hinted at looming staff layoffs and the closure of satellite campuses as the government grapples with underfunding in public universities.
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He told the National Assembly Education Committee that the government may resort to outsourcing services in underfunded institutions, as it can no longer fully meet the needs of government-sponsored students.
The CS further warned that the state can no longer sustain the full cost of educating government-sponsored students, signalling a shift towards cost-cutting measures and possible outsourcing of key services.
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