Why education system is on the brink

Kenya’s education system is on the verge of collapse after the government openly admitted that it cannot afford to fully fund learners from public primary school to university.

From basic education to university level, the sector is in a mess with unpredictable funding, shifting policies, and a growing burden on parents, in clear deviation from the free education promise.

The shocking confession by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, which contradicts the country’s long-held free education promise, triggered fears of the collapse of the country’s education.

However, President William Ruto contradicted Mbadi.

“Free primary education is the right of every Kenyan,” Ruto said. “Over the last two years, we have taken several measures to ensure education is truly universal and accessible,” Ruto said on Sunday.

But in Parliament, Mbadi disclosed a sharp cut in capitation for secondary schools — from Sh22,244 to Sh16,900 per learner.

Mbadi said the country is in no position to facilitate the Free Primary and Free Day Secondary Education Programme that was adopted in 2003 and 2012 respectively.

He also said the examination fee, for instance, has raised a lot of heat in the country because the budget line was left without any allocation when proposals towards it were made to Parliament.

Not tenable

Mbadi told MPs that the cost of running exams is high, not tenable, and exaggerated. He said that as much as the government will pay for now, there is need to have a conversation on the matter about what needs to change.

The waiver adopted in 2016 by the Uhuru Kenyatta administration sought to offload the burden of examination fees from poor households.

Mbadi, however, said that the National Treasury feels that it is not right to pay exam fees for all children, explaining that the Government should subsidise for the indigent and the rest should pay for themselves.

“We cannot run a welfare State; we do not have that capacity,” he explained.

These revelations have seen various stakeholders warn that the long-term consequences will be devastating.

On Saturday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba dismissed claims of collapsing education, arguing that free and compulsory basic education is a constitutional right of every child, pursuant to Article 53 of the Constitution.

“The government has neither the intention nor the power to abrogate this sacrosanct right,” said Ogamba.

In a statement, Ogamba said that to address the current resource gap, the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury will continue to lobby the National Assembly to allocate more resources to ensure that all learners are funded at the approved rates.

“The Government will work to fulfil its duty of providing access to quality education for all our children,” Ogamba said.

The funding troubles, however, put schools and universities in a precarious position that could see parents pay higher fees for their children’s education.

Under basic education—primary and secondary schools—the government has failed to honour full capitation pledges, leaving thousands of schools grappling with acute cash shortages.

From rising dropout rates, teenage pregnancies, and child labour to a generation of poorly skilled youth, the country risks reversing decades of progress.

And for universities, the picture is grimmer, amid a looming shake-up after Mbadi hinted at plans to lay off staff, close satellite campuses, and outsource some services in institutions grappling with underfunding.

The Council of Governors (CoG) has taken a swipe at Mbadi over claims that the government is unable to fund free education.

CoG Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwiti said it was unwise for the CS to utter such remarks that put the lives of many vulnerable and poor children at risk.

Mwiti said education remains the only equaliser that has brought pride to many families.

Kawive Wambua, Chief Executive Officer of lobby group Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi, termed the pronouncement by the Treasury CS that the country is broke and cannot sustain free education as dangerous.

Wambua noted that the laws of the country guarantee every child the right to free and compulsory basic education.

He further called for focus to be turned on capping wastage witnessed in the Ministry of Education.

“It is unacceptable that while learners in public schools sit in crowded classes or under trees in some areas, share torn textbooks, and face teacher shortages, non-existent institutions are receiving public money with no consequences. Yet, rather than address these systemic failures, public officials are now implying that free education equals poor quality,” Wambua said in a statement.

Even as Mbadi later said his statement was misquoted, he stated that he was making an appeal to MPs to increase funding for education.

“I told them we must enhance the budget for capitation so that every child receives Sh22,000. What we have in the budget today is less than Sh22,000,” he said.

However, the MPs sitting in the Education Committee on Thursday proposed that only students who get capitation be considered for the exam fee waiver, further pushing the burden to parents.

This means learners in private schools have to pay for national examination fees.

This includes fees for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment.

Critics argue the decision is discriminatory and divisive, punishing parents who opted for private schools due to failed public education. Kenya Private Schools Association Chairman Charles Ochome argues that not all learners in private schools are from able families, as perceived by the government.

“There is no private or public child; they are all children of taxpayers, and the funds used to pay for examinations are public funds. We do not benefit as an institution from the waiver—it is the child that benefits—thus raising questions on why the bias in spending,” Ochome posed.

The revelations come at a time the country is switching to the Competency-Based Education (CBE), which has also witnessed deep gaps.

Despite the government employing a record 76,000 teachers in the last year, the majority of them were designated for junior secondary schools.

However, the schools are still facing a major teacher shortage, with each school only getting an average of two to four teachers.

School heads

The shortfall has forced the teachers to teach subjects for which they lack professional training, according to reports by school heads.

This adds to the poor infrastructure — including the lack of laboratories and, in some instances, classrooms—that the CBE has endured in the nine years of its implementation.

These factors put into question the quality of teaching and learning under a curriculum that has long been touted as a panacea in the country and that would bring out the best in each learner.

The transition to senior secondary is another looming disaster adding to the CBE troubles.

The transition faces another hurdle with a huge resource shortfall required to teach and learn under the three pathways that will be offered in Senior Secondary.

The pathways include Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Arts and Sports Science, and the Social Sciences.

However, this also faces another hurdle, with school heads flagging the limited availability of some facilities required for STEM and Sports Science pathways.

The limited resources have seen students in Grade 9 — who will be transitioning to Senior Secondary in January — shun thousands of secondary schools they wish to join.

Julius Bitok, the Basic Education Principal Secretary, in a previous media briefing told journalists that out of the available 9,750 institutions available for senior school, students had only shown interest in joining 4,000 institutions.

This means that the students have no interest in joining over 5,000 schools. Most of them, Bitok said, are day secondary schools.

School heads argue this is due to poor resources.

“Most of our schools are simply not ready to implement the senior school pathways as envisioned under CBE,” Willy Kuria, the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman said.