President William Ruto has acknowledged that Kenya cannot cover all education costs for students, emphasizing that parents must still contribute despite government efforts to ease access.
Speaking in Nakuru County on Friday during the Nyota Business Start-Up Capital disbursement, the president explained that the nation’s financial capacity limits the possibility of entirely free education.
Ruto noted that while the government has increased the education budget from Sh500 billion to Sh700 billion, this funding still falls short of supporting every learner across the country.
"Each child, poor or rich, has a chance to learn in the universities and colleges because those from the poor households have 90% access to bursaries and scholarships. Parents are paying a small part. Education can't be entirely free, because we don't have the money to make it free. We must be honest with ourselves," he said.
The president reflected on a previous attempt to make university education fully free, which nearly led to the collapse of tertiary institutions due to insufficient funding.
"There was a time we said university education would be free, and they nearly collapsed because we couldn't afford it. We must work progressively; as we improve the economy, we will have the financial muscle to pay for everyone. For now, it has to be a partnership between the government, parent and other stakeholders," he explained, stressing the importance of a strong economy to sustain future education funding.
Ruto’s comments come amid debates over delayed and low funding for public schools. Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro recently criticized the government for allocating just Sh109 per student for the current term, calling the official claims on capitation disbursement misleading.
Nyoro outlined a two-step approach to address the shortfall, first ensuring that parents and stakeholders are aware of what he described as misinformation on school financing.
He also pledged to monitor the release of actual funds throughout the term and warned that he would mobilize parents if proper capitation funds are not released by midterm. He stressed that taxpayers have a right to demand adequate funding since free basic education is enshrined in the Constitution.
