Inside education's Sh784 billion hole

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has pledged government support for several of Kuppet’s demands. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kenya is spending Sh784.46 billion on education this financial year, more than the entire national budgets of Rwanda and Mauritius, yet schools and universities continue to report funding shortfalls, mounting debts and rising costs for learners.

The allocation, which accounts for nearly 28 per cent of the national budget, is bigger than the combined resources allocated to Kenya’s 47 counties and exceeds the entire annual budgets of several African countries. It covers everything from teachers’ salaries and free primary and secondary education to university funding, TVET, school feeding and infrastructure.