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The audit for the 2024/25 financial year indicates that the delay in presenting the cheques to banks led to their expiry, a situation that forced affected learners to miss classes after being sent home for lack of fees.
Speaking in Kakamega on Thursday, KNUT Kakamega North Secretary General Shadrack Muyaka criticised the slow pace of payments to exam invigilators, supervisors, and markers, noting that trust between teachers and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has been weakened.
Activists navigating these risks face shrinking civic spaces, targeted abductions, and systemic impunity, particularly in law enforcement and government offices.
Former KNUT boss Wilson Sossion has accused current leaders of weakening the union’s advocacy and confirmed interest in contesting Collins Oyuu for secretary-general in the April 2026 elections.
Former KNUT boss Wilson Sossion Sossion says infrastructure development is only one part of a larger education planning system that includes student population forecasting, teacher recruitment and training, and provision of learning materials.
The bursary programme was designed to help learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, including orphans, persons with disabilities, children from low-income families, women, and survivors of gender-based violence.
Sossion recalled that the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), developed by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), was introduced to replace the 8-4-4 system, which was criticized for focusing on memorization and exams rather than practical skills and creativity.
Egerton University carries the heaviest burden at Sh25.5 billion. The University of Nairobi follows with Sh17 billion, while Kenyatta University and Moi University owe Sh12.8 billion and Sh10.4 billion respectively.
HELB received only Sh4.1 billion of the Sh10 billion requested for student loans, while the TVET department got Sh3 billion of the Sh29 billion it needed for scholarships
The State Department of Basic Education says the school feeding programme, which supports 2.6 million children, requires Sh12.7 billion, yet only Sh4.7 billion has been allocated. The gap has sparked concern over potential increases in absenteeism and long-term impacts on education for vulnerable learners.
The warning came as MPs examined TSC’s Supplementary Estimates I for the 2025/26 financial year, which were revised upward by Sh21.18 billion to Sh407.69 billion from the initial Sh386.51 billion
At the centre of the concerns is the Sh92.8 billion sent to schools through the Free Primary Education (FPE), Junior Secondary Education (JSE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) programmes.
According to the placement agency, the move follows a collaboration with the training institution aimed at widening access to professional courses in hospitality and tourism, which are widely recognised across the globe.
Junior school teachers, through the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), described the ruling as groundbreaking.
To demonstrate this approach, the principal described a classroom activity where pupils learned about food preparation in a safe and guided setting. During the exercise, children explored different ways of preparing eggs.
Principal Doris Kwambo of Little Paddy Academy in Kileleshwa explains how supervised daycare, play-based learning and Kenya’s CBC reforms work together to prepare young children for future national and global demands.
Under the programme, scholarships cover between 30 and 70 per cent of tuition, with remaining fees expected from household contributions or loans. To qualify, students must have been admitted through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service and must have sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in 2022 or later.
He cautioned that principals who fail to register eligible candidates for the 2026 examinations would face serious administrative and disciplinary action.
Koskei instructed school administrators and boards of management to strictly follow all government circulars and regulations on school fees to prevent the continued collection of illegal charges.
The ministry is now reviewing the placement results and plans to establish a technical team to examine the situation and recommend how schools with very low numbers should be managed if the trend continues.
He explained that the decision was informed by psychosocial, logistical, and cost considerations. Younger learners would face integration challenges if placed in secondary school environments, and using existing primary school infrastructure, including classrooms previously used by Standard Seven and Eight, was more cost-effective than constructing new facilities nationwide.
The reports indicate that the problem affects at least 19 out of the country’s 42 public universities. According to the audit, hiring in these institutions has largely been influenced by the ethnic communities living around them, resulting in clear patterns where one group holds the majority of jobs.
In its public notice, TSC called for “qualified, result-oriented and highly motivated Kenyans to apply for the various positions,” which cover leadership, management, and field-based responsibilities.
The programmes are offered in National Polytechnics, Technical Training Institutes, Institutes of Science and Technology, and other accredited technical colleges.
According to Ministry of Education data, approximately 270,000 candidates who sat the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam achieved grades that qualify them for direct university entry. The placement process will allow these students to choose from degree, diploma, and technical programmes across public institutions.
The fee, which covers assessment charges, will be enforced starting May 2026 and is part of the government’s effort to expand access to practical skills education.
Candidates can register either as regular school candidates or as private candidates. Private candidates are required to visit the nearest Sub-County Director of Education office to complete their registration.
KUPPET National Chairman Omboko Milemba said teachers have resorted to harambees to meet medical expenses, with members already raising Sh1.5 million alongside the union.
Gathungu’s audit shows that as of June 2025, Knec’s liabilities stood at Sh2.81 billion while its current assets were only Sh694.8 million, leaving it with a negative working capital of Sh2.12 billion and an accumulated deficit of Sh2.79 billion.
According to the council, the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment will be conducted over several months between May and October 2026. The schedule includes projects, rehearsals, and the final written examinations.