Education crisis looms as zero shillings allocated for national exams

The crisis in the country's education sector continues to deepen, with the latest development being a Ksh.62 billion budget shortfall.

Thousands of candidates now face an uncertain future after Treasury removed the entire budget for examination registration and invigilation, in what could see parents being forced to pay to have learners sit national examinations.

The presentation of the report to the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education and Research revealed that the government has not budgeted for examinations.

“There are certain activities that you tend to think they may be done or may not be done, but putting zero budget for exams, are we serious?” Posed committee Chairperson Julius Melly.

Nyamira Woman Representative Jerusha Momanyi chimed in: “What is wrong with exams of our children? Does Treasury want to do away with exams or does it want to communicate to parents to start paying examination fees?”

Finding themselves on the hot seat, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok and Budget Officer Nehemiah Odera were at pains to explain the anomaly.

“We assure the public that we are discussing with National Treasury to ensure that we address this issue,” said PS Bitok.

The reply was however unsatisfactory to the committee, given that Ksh.62 billion had been slashed from the overall education budget.

The School Examination and Invigilation Annual Requirement was placed at Ksh.12.5 billion by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), the Budget Policy Statement settled on Ksh.6 billion. No money was allocated.

Another anomaly is the failure to allocate any funding to Quality Assurance and Standards. The Annual Requirement was estimated at Ksh.600 million and was approved under the budget policy statement. Again, no money was allocated.

The Modernization of the Kenya Education Management System KEMI) to centralize data on education at all levels of the education system also suffered the same fate. Zero allocation.

Earlier, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had also submitted that they have a deficit of Ksh.5.7 billion in the financial year 2025/2026 and that they are unable to permanently employ 20,000 intern teachers.