Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has dismissed claims that the government has revoked capitation for free primary and secondary school education.
Addressing the press on Saturday, July 26, Ogamba clarified that the government had only reduced the capitation fee due to budgetary adjustments in the current 2025/2026 fiscal year.
The CS noted that the budget constraints were primarily due to the growing enrolment despite the government's commitment to the 100 per cent transition policy.
"Under the government policy, the amount that we are supposed to give per student in senior school is Ksh22,244, but because of budget constraints, we have not been able to meet that target," Ogamba said.
“The number of students has been going up every year, but the figure has not been moving up. We have not abolished free primary education. We have only reduced the capitation fee," he added.
According to Ogamba, free and compulsory basic education is a constitutional right of every child, adding that the government has neither the intention nor the power to abrogate this sacrosanct right.
To address the current resource gap, the CS noted that the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury had commenced proactive lobbying of the National Assembly to allocate more resources.
He reiterated that President William Ruto's administration would do everything possible to fulfil its duty of providing access to quality education for all children.
Ogamba's clarification comes two days after Treasury CS John Mbadi admitted that the government can no longer fund free basic education due to the current financial burden.
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education on Thursday, July 24, Mbadi said the government cannot sustain the full capitation of Ksh22,000 per secondary school student, managing only Ksh16,600.
"If you look at the budget of the year and divide it by the total number of students, you will realise that instead of funding Ksh22,000, we are now funding at Ksh16,000 and so we release at 50 per cent, 30 per cent and 20 per cent for each term," Mbadi told the MPs.
During the meeting, the Treasury CS also warned of a potential funding cut in universities, including cutting university students' capitation and closure of some campuses.
