Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba was at pains to explain the delays in disbursing capitation funds to schools, with the government owing billions to schools.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Committee on Education on Thursday, June 5, 2025, Ogamba faced the wrath of angry MPs who raised the alarm over delays in the disbursement of capitation funds to schools, warning that the financial strain could undermine the provision of free and compulsory education in the country.
According to Kathiani MP Robert Mbui, in Term One of 2025, schools had only received Ksh14 billion out of an expected Ksh28 billion, resulting in acute cash flow challenges and accumulation of pending bills. Mbui disclosed that the capitation shortfall had ballooned to Ksh64 billion over the past five years.
“How free is education in Kenya if schools are forced to run on half their budgets?” Narok Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei asked. “The government must address how schools are expected to operate amid such financial uncertainty.”
In his defence, Ogamba said that while the Ministry had disbursed Ksh28.8 billion to secondary schools in two tranches—January and March 2025— which was still Ksh7.5 billion short of the required Ksh36.3 billion for the term.
“We disbursed 50% of the budgeted amount in two tranches, but the printed estimates had a deficit. That’s a reflection of the fiscal pressure we are under,” Ogamba said.
The CS further explained that while budgeting is based on enrollment data from the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), actual disbursement had shifted to the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) to address data inconsistencies.
“Free education must be meaningful. Our population is increasing at almost 5% annually. We must find workable and sustainable solutions to fund the sector,” Committee Chair Julius Melly warned.
Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gesairo questioned how the Ministry could be unaware of pending bills affecting secondary schools. “This shows a serious gap in planning. The Ministry must know the exact debt it owes schools,” Gesairo said.
In 2025, each primary school learner was entitled to Ksh1,420, junior secondary school learners Ksh15,043, and secondary school learners Ksh22,244. However, the Ministry admitted that not all funds reach schools due to deductions—Ksh75 per primary pupil, for instance, is sent to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development for textbooks, while Ksh20 supports co-curricular activities.
Further, it was revealed that national exams are not covered under capitation but are instead funded separately through allocations to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). Internal examinations, however, are allocated Ksh36 per primary school learner, Ksh647 for junior school, and 11% of the tuition allocation for secondary schools.
Ogamba says the Ministry now disburses capitation based on school terms—50% in Term 1, 30% in Term 2, and 20% in Term 3. He cited delays in exchequer releases and erroneous data uploads by schools as key contributors to disbursement bottlenecks.
The CS urged MPs to push for adequate budgetary allocations in the upcoming financial year.
“We appeal to this Committee to support the Ministry in securing funds at the approved rates to ensure that no school is left behind,” he said.
Francis Muli
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