Inside Mbadi’s Ksh.784.5B education budget amid capitation woes, school unrest

Education has emerged as the biggest winner in the 2026/2027 national budget after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi proposed an allocation of Ksh.784.5 billion, representing 26.4 per cent of the total ministerial spending plan, in what the government says is evidence of its commitment to addressing longstanding funding challenges in the sector.

The allocation, announced by Mbadi while presenting the budget estimates in Parliament on Thursday afternoon, comes at a time when schools across the country have been grappling with delayed capitation, mounting operational costs and widespread unrest that has affected more than 200 learning institutions.

The sector has been under intense public scrutiny in recent months following complaints from headteachers and principals over inadequate funding, delayed disbursement of capitation funds and a growing strain on school operations.

The situation has been compounded by a wave of unrest in schools, with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba recently revealing that at least 204 schools had experienced disturbances, including incidents of arson that destroyed dormitories and other facilities.

Against this backdrop, CS Mbadi sought to dismiss claims that the government was reducing funding to education.

"Kenya's future depends on developing strong human capital. And to this end, we will continue to strengthen quality learning, training and research, promote equity and inclusivity, scale up investment in education, fortify the system against emerging technological and labour market shift, as well as fortify education to industry linkages, thus ensuring skills match demand," said Mbadi.

The Treasury CS argued that funding to education has significantly increased since the current administration took office.

"A lot has been said about defunding education, but in 2026/27 we're proposing Ksh.784.5 billion, which is 26.4 per cent of the ministerial budget. Compare that to the 2021/22 budget before this administration came into office, when the budget for education was Ksh.526 billion. That has now increased by 49 per cent," he told Parliament.

The largest portion of the allocation will go to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which has been earmarked Ksh.424 billion for teachers' salaries and related expenses.

The allocation marks a substantial increase from the Ksh.290 billion allocated to the commission in the 2021/2022 budget.

Basic education has been allocated Ksh.136.6 billion, up from Ksh.107 billion four years ago, while higher education will receive Ksh.163.9 billion compared to Ksh.105 billion in 2022.

The government has also proposed Ksh.58.5 billion for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and Ksh.1.3 billion for science, innovation and research programmes.

To support free basic education, Mbadi proposed Ksh.7 billion for free primary education, Ksh.54.6 billion for free day secondary education and Ksh.30.7 billion for junior secondary school capitation.

The combined allocation for secondary and junior secondary capitation stands at Ksh.85.3 billion, significantly higher than the Ksh.62.4 billion allocated in 2022.

The Treasury CS also proposed Ksh.9.9 billion for the administration of national examinations. He further announced that teachers who participated in national examination marking would receive outstanding payments before the close of the current financial year.

"I propose Ksh.9.9 billion for administering national exams, and that is in addition to what we have just provided before the end of this year to pay the arrears of Ksh.1.5 billion to teachers. So teachers who marked exams will be paid Ksh.15 billion before the end of this financial year," he said.

School feeding programmes, which have become increasingly important in improving learner retention and attendance, have been allocated Ksh.3 billion, up from Ksh.2.2 billion in 2022.

In a move aimed at addressing teacher shortages, the Treasury has proposed Ksh.4.9 billion to facilitate the conversion of 20,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable terms beginning January 2027.

An additional Ksh.8.2 billion has been allocated for intern teachers, with the government also committing to convert another 24,000 intern teachers to permanent and pensionable terms in July 2027.

Mbadi defended the administration's recruitment record, saying no previous government had hired teachers at the pace witnessed under the current regime.

"This government, by the time we reach next year, will have employed 116,000 teachers, averagely over 20,000 teachers per year. There is no other government that has ever employed more than 10,000 teachers a year," he said.

To improve learning environments, the budget sets aside Ksh.4.1 billion for infrastructure development in primary and secondary schools and Ksh.2.1 billion for the construction and equipping of TVET institutions.

Other allocations include Ksh.7.1 billion for the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning (KPEEL) Programme and Ksh.4.7 billion for the Kenya Secondary Education Quality Improvement Programme (SEEQIP).

The higher education sector is also poised for a significant funding boost under the proposed estimates.

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has been allocated Ksh.56.3 billion for student loans, a dramatic increase from Ksh.15.39 billion in 2022.

Universities and TVET students will also benefit from Ksh.30.9 billion in university scholarships and Ksh.9.2 billion in TVET scholarships.

The government has further earmarked Ksh.6.7 billion for implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) arrears in universities and Ksh.5.9 billion for ongoing university development projects across the country.

The proposed allocations are expected to spark debate in the coming weeks as stakeholders assess whether the increased funding will be sufficient to address concerns raised by school administrators over capitation deficits, infrastructure damage caused by recent unrest, teacher shortages and the financial pressures facing institutions implementing the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.