End of free education? Why parents may fund public schools again

Parents could soon be thrust at the centre of financing their children’s education after enjoying more than two decades of free primary and free day secondary education.

On Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba shocked the country when he signaled at a cost sharing plan when he called for review on financing of schools in the country.

It emerged that parents could now be among the options mulled by the Ministry of Education to plug the funding deficits, that pose fresh hurdles threatening the concept introduced in 2003 by the late president Mwai Kibaki.

On January 6, 2003, there was chaos in public school as the free primary education policy kicked off. Schools were unprepared for the influx of new learners, teachers did not anticipate the huge classed, Treasury did not have the budgetary allocation to kickstart the programme but then President Mwai Kibaki had decreed primary education in public school was free and compulsory.

On June 1, 2003 Kibaki led the country in celebrating Madaraka day saying: “My fellow countrymen, during our campaigns, we promised to bring into classrooms, millions of young vibrant children who were anxious to learn how to read and write. I thank all parents who have seen it prudent to take their children to school, under our Free Primary School Education policy. An additional 1.2 million children are now enrolled in primary school.”

However, appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee, Ogamba said that the ministry is exploring options of education financing, which could include on-boarding parents and a review of the constitution.

It emerged that the shrink in funding of education, inflation, the widening pending bills and the high number of students enrolled in schools is pushing the government to claw back gains on free education.

“My biggest submission and continuous request is can we have the full amount that we have requested for, so that the debt does not continue accumulating. With regards to the pending bill, I think it is something that between parents, the ministry and the government we need to sit down and see what can be done around it,” Ogamba said.

Ogamba made the remarks after MPs pressed him to explain how the government plans to settle outstanding monies owed to schools due to delays in full disbursement of funding.

It emerged during the session that pending bills in the education sector are growing, the population is increasing, while funding is shrinking.

Already, MPs have trimmed the budget for examination by a whooping Sh5.9 billion from Sh11 billion. This has thrown a spanner in the works in the preparation for the nationals exams. 

Ogamba said the widening funding gaps threaten the sustainability of all the education programs.

“We are trying to think outside the box to see how we can fund education in this country. In view of the constitutional provisions, it is going to be difficult to offer quality education if we don’t get a solution to the continuous and consistent under-funding of the sector. Is there a way that we can ring-fence the education budget, even as we think of a solution to the pending bills we are facing?” Ogamba said.

Ogamba was responding to troubling funding deficits while appearing before the Julius Melly (Tinderet, MP) led Education committee.

The Melly led committee demanded answers from Ogamba on the government plans to bridge about Sh60 billion pending bills owed to schools for over a decade.

However, Kathiani MP Robert Mbui alleged that the cumulative amount owed to schools could be as high as Sh64 billion over the past seven years.

Ogamba did not have updated data on pending bills owed to schools.

However, MPs pressed him to avail accurate data of pending bills owed to basic education institutions.

“One thing we need to think about is the issue of capitation and activity fees. Everyone knows that it is not enough. We have to sit down, and since this is a constitutional issue—since education is free and compulsory—we need to look at it as Kenyans. How much is free education? How much does it cost to take a child through school? It is something we need to sit down and have a conference on how to fund education,” Melly said.

CS Ogamba faulted MPs for the under-funding gaps, saying the legislators are responsible for funds allocations to schools.

He revealed that secondary schools are facing a Sh22 billion deficit this year alone.

“When we come and say we need X amount for our sector and you tell us, No, we are not going to give you that, we will give you this. We work with what you give us. So, we are in this together. We just have to, going forward, know how to reduce the distance between us so that we can resolve this problem.”

What will shock many parents however, is the intention to open debate on parents’ role in education financing which is likely to trigger cost-sharing plan of tuition fees.

The Ministry admitted it has only been able to disburse between Sh16,000 and Sh17,000 annually per student for secondary school capitation—well below the required Sh22,244 for the Free Day Secondary Education program.

“It is a very serious issue and has been lagging all the way since we came to this House in 2013. Every other time, there is always a pending bill, and the process of transferring the money from the top to schools is also a serious issue… I believe, CS, we (the education sector) need to do a lot of reforms,” said Melly.

Kathiani MP Robert Mbui questioned whether the government has failed to fund schools and is pushing to rope in parents in the plan.

He specifically asked about the failure to fund co-curricular activities at the initial levels and only confining funding to national and regional stages.

“If the government feels that the amount of activity fee is not going to be raised, then we need to introduce a form of cost-sharing to fund some of the activities like say parents can buy balls for the learners,” said Mbui.

The revelations in parliament by Ogamba come as debate still rages over scrapping of waiver, introduced in 2016.

There has been a strong push to load back the examination fees to parents’ shoulders.

The proposed shift—outlined in a document by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), which advises Parliament on fiscal matters—would introduce a cost-sharing model, effectively ending a decade-old policy that had relieved financial pressure on thousands of families.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in May hinted that the plan could take effect next year.

The waiver, initiated by former Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, was aimed at ensuring that no student missed their final exams due to inability to pay registration fees.

Currently, the government allocates Sh1,420 per child annually for the FPE program, but on Thursday, the Ministry of Education revealed that for the first time, it has failed to provide the full amount to schools.

Similarly, Free Day Secondary Education—adopted in 2008 under Kibaki’s administration following his re-election—was aimed at making secondary schooling more affordable. 

At its inception, the government provided Sh15,244 per student annually, while parents contributed Sh7,000 in fees. 

This amount was later revised to Sh22,244 by the Uhuru Kenyatta administration in 2013, essentially making day secondary education free.

On Thursday, MP Mbui said that school heads had reported a Sh64 billion deficit in the last seven years.

In 2023, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) submitted a petition before Melly led committee demanding interventions of Sh54 billion, then owed to schools.

Similarly, the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) last year also petitioned the Education Committee to intervene in sorting the six-year deficit, running into billions.

Every school team, teachers’ unions and associations decry delayed disbursement of capitation to schools, disrupting education calendar and sometimes leading to early closures.

It is now emerging these financial shortfalls could see parents once again put at the centre of education financing, amid concerns about declining allocations over the past decade.

Narok County Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei termed the funding gaps a source of distress among school administrators.

“How free is education in Kenya? When you promise schools that this money will hit the schools but it does not hit the account, then do we expect them to run the institutions?” she posed.

During the session, the Ministry was also faulted for failing to support co-curricular activities due to bureaucratic hurdles in fund disbursement. These activities include sports, drama, and music festivals.

Kibra MP Peter Orero noted that the disbursement process was flawed, alleging that corruption among officers handling the funds prevents the money from reaching schools.

The Education Committee has now instructed the Ministry to send activity funds directly to schools and allow school heads to manage and budget for their activities.