Free Education at Risk, Ministry of Education Warns.
The Ministry of Education has officially acknowledged the crisis in the funding of Kenya’s basic education sector, citing chronic underfunding and stagnation in per-learner capitation as major obstacles to the sustainability of free and compulsory education.
Speaking before the National Assembly Education Committee on 5 June 2025, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said, “We are between a rock and a hard place.” He urged Parliament to have comprehensive discussions on funding mechanisms to uphold the constitutional guarantee of free basic education.
Mr. Ogamba said underfunding, especially in secondary schools, is affecting the quality and accessibility of education across the country. “We need to discuss how we can fund the education sector in the country. Underfunding is a live problem,” he said.
Free Primary Education (FPE) was introduced in 2003 under President Mwai Kibaki’s administration as a campaign promise. The programme saw a huge increase in enrollment. President Uhuru Kenyatta later expanded the programme with the introduction of Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) and 100% transition from primary to secondary school.
Under Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, secondary education capitation scaled from KES 10,265 in 2015 to KES 22,244 in 2018. By 2022, high school enrollment had increased from 1.3 million to 3.6 million learners. Budgetary allocations have also grew, from KES 58.5 billion in FY2017/18 to KES 71.9 billion in FY2021/22.
But the Ministry has now confirmed that the current administration under President William Ruto has reversed the trend. Data from the Controller of Budget shows that secondary education allocation dropped to KES 67.88 billion for FY2023/24 from KES 92.79 billion in FY2022/23 — a decline of KES 24.91 billion.Capitation per secondary student has not increased since 2018 and is still at KES 22,244 despite growing enrollment pressure and inflation.
In the primary education sub-sector, allocations have also gone down. Capitation decreased from KES 20.1 billion in FY2017/18 to KES 18.47 billion in FY2020/21 before increasing marginally to KES 21.12 billion in FY2021/22. It went down again to KES 19.01 billion in FY2023/24 under the current administration.
The Ministry has also raised concern over the reallocation of critical capitation funds to finance examination operations. The National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee has suggested KES 5.9 billion for examination administration and invigilation in the fiscal year 2025/26 budget.
The committee said this funding will be taken from capitation allocations for:
- Junior School – KES 2 billion
- Secondary School – KES 3 billion
- Primary School – KES 900 million
This is a rechanneling of operational funds from the school level to national assessment services.
The Ministry of Education states that these trends threaten the sustainability of universal access to education especially for learners from poor financial backgrounds. With insufficient and pending capitation, parents are bearing the burden as schools introduce charges for remedial classes, development projects and infrastructure maintenance.
Secondary school enrollment has gone down from 3.6 million to 3.2 million students, with transition rates from primary to secondary education starting to decline — reversing earlier gains made under previous administrations.
The Ministry noted that support initiatives like the Elimu Scholarship Programme under the Kenya Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) and the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) Programme are not enough to bridge the rising equity gap.
In the 2023 application cycle for the Elimu Scholarship Programme, only 14,426 out of 95,016 applicants were awarded scholarships, that’s a success rate of 15.2%.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms had recommended an increase in capitation for senior secondary schools to KES 22,257. But that’s still not implemented.
Also Read: List of Zones KUPPET Wants Added As Hardship Areas in CBA With TSC
The Kenya Kwanza administration has not officially repealed free basic education but the Ministry of Education says stagnant funding against rising costs has effectively killed access. The Ministry says this financial erosion may have long term effects on learning outcomes, equity and national development.
The Ministry of Education is calling on Parliament, National Treasury and stakeholders to prioritize funding for basic education to preserve constitutional commitments and protect previous policy gains. Without targeted intervention, Kenya’s free education model is at risk.
Free Education at Risk, Ministry of Education Warns
