Published on July 26, 2025 by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Last Updated on 10 months by Agencies for Kenya Online News
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has blamed Parliament for the persistent shortfall in school capitation funds.
He said lawmakers are responsible for approving budgetary allocations that fall short of the amounts needed to support learners in public schools fully.
Speaking on Friday during a Thanksgiving ceremony in Suba South, Mbadi dismissed claims that the government has failed to disburse capitation funds, stating instead that Parliament has repeatedly approved budgets that cannot meet the full cost of educating children in public secondary schools.
“We disbursed the whole amount allocated in the budget, but still, it is not enough,” he said.
“So the only thing I did yesterday was to confirm that yes, we have allocated so much budget and we are giving it in full. But it is not enough to give every child in Kenya Sh22,000.”
Mbadi explained that the government policy stipulates that each student in a day secondary school should be allocated Sh22,000 annually, junior secondary school students Sh15,000, and those in primary schools Sh1,400.
However, he revealed that the Treasury has never been able to meet the target of Sh22,000 per learner in full.
“If you divide the current budget by the number of students in secondary schools, you will only get about Sh17,000 per student. That has been the reality even during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure,” he noted.
He took issue with the MP for questioning why the Treasury had not disbursed the full Sh22,000, yet they were the same lawmakers who approved the budget cuts.
“In fact, the latest budget, the capitation we had proposed, Parliament reduced it further. So once a budget has been allocated, where do I get the money to pay the full Sh22,000?” he posed.
“Whatever is there will be paid in full. First term and second term have been paid in full. We are waiting to pay third term, but that money is not enough.”
Mbadi further dispelled what he termed as misinformation surrounding the history of free secondary education in Kenya.
He clarified that it was former President Mwai Kibaki who introduced free primary education, but not free secondary schooling.
“People say Kibaki was able to have our children learn for free. It’s not true. He made sure our children went to school for free in primary school. For secondary school, it is President Uhuru Kenyatta who started this initiative,” he said.
