Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir has defended the county’s school feeding programme, saying it is designed to reduce the cost of education and ease pressure on parents.
He explained that the initiative has replaced earlier cash transfers and now directly covers school meals and related costs, cutting total school fees in some institutions by nearly half.
In a Radio Generation interview on Monday, the governor highlighted that the county had previously tested direct cash support under a programme called “No Child Left Behind”, where “every child in every secondary school within Mombasa got paid a lump sum of 5000 shillings.”
The model created expectations among parents but did not adequately solve challenges linked to nutrition, school attendance, and overall learning conditions.
He explained that the county government later restructured its approach after consultations with education stakeholders and the national government.
“We reflected on this and realized that while education is meant to be free, schools and parents often make additional decisions—such as providing meals and hiring extra Board of Management teachers—which create extra costs that have to be factored in,” he explained.
According to him, annual schooling costs had in many institutions ranged between 22,000 and 23,000 shillings per learner.
“We came up with an agreement where the county government took over the feeding program of the schools, which now reduces the fees directly,” he said, adding that the intervention had helped bring the burden down to about 12,000 shillings in some schools through what he described as economies of scale.
Nassir's remarks come amid the cost of secondary education in Kenya recently fluctuating due to changes in government capitation policy and budget constraints.
Previously, parents indirectly covered a gap where total annual per-learner support and school operational costs pushed average household contributions to about Sh 22,000–23,000 per learner in some public secondary schools. This figure was linked to the state capitation benchmark of about Sh 22,244 per student annually before revisions.
However, in 2025–2026, the government acknowledged fiscal pressure and reduced effective funding in some cases to around Sh 16,600–17,000 per learner, citing budget limitations and rising enrolment.
To cushion families, the Ministry of Education, Treasury, and President William Ruto’s administration increased education budget allocations, improved timely disbursement, and reinforced capitation reforms under the Free Basic Education policy.
The National Treasury allocated approximately Sh784.5 billion to the education sector in the 2026/2027 national budget, making it the largest single share of government spending.
According to Treasury CS John Mbadi, the increase reflects a rise from about Sh702 billion in 2025/2026, driven by higher capitation for basic education, teacher recruitment, and expansion of Free Day Secondary Education funding.
President William Ruto has, in most occasions, stated that education funding has grown by nearly 49% since 2022, reaffirming free basic education and directing timely disbursement to schools.
The budget boost targets reduced school fees, improved capitation, and hiring of over 20,000 intern teachers, strengthening learning outcomes nationwide.
Education officials also streamlined distribution into learning materials and operations accounts and improved pre-term release of funds.
President Ruto repeatedly emphasized free education as a constitutional right, directing that funding be protected and disbursed before schools reopen (2025–2026 statements).
The combined reforms helped stabilize and reduce effective costs for parents to about Sh 12,000 per learner in some public school settings, easing household burden while maintaining government subsidy support.
Moving further, the governor noted that the revised model focuses on direct provision of meals rather than household cash disbursement, arguing that this ensures funds are used for their intended purpose.
He explained that the programme is designed to improve learner retention, concentration in class, and long-term educational outcomes by guaranteeing at least one consistent meal for pupils.
Nassir further highlighted that the feeding programme has been extended to Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres across Mombasa County, where the county now fully covers the cost of meals.
“We’re currently doing a feeding program for all our ECD students within Mombasa for free,” he noted, adding that the county is absorbing raw food costs while also restructuring school operations.
As part of implementation, school cooks are undergoing training during the holidays to standardise food preparation and improve efficiency.
The county has also moved to streamline payroll responsibilities at school level, reducing financial pressure on institutions while ensuring continuity of the feeding programme.
The reforms are intended to create a more predictable and sustainable school support system.
The governor noted that the shift was necessary to ensure public resources translate directly into learner welfare rather than fragmented household spending.
He concluded that the programme continues to evolve through consultations and adjustments aimed at improving delivery and expanding coverage across the county’s education system.