Ogamba: Adequate funding and teacher deployment key to fixing education sector

The education sector has the highest budget allocation in the 2025/26 financial year. Why are schools still experiencing funding challenges?

It is true the education sector receives the largest share of the national budget, about Sh702.7 billion, but the needs are also enormous. The allocation covers basic education, teacher employment, universities and many other areas. The issue is therefore not simply how much money is allocated, but how effectively those resources are distributed and whether they reach the areas of greatest need. That is why accurate data is so important. If we do not know the actual number of learners, teachers or institutions, we cannot determine the resources required.

Then what causes delay in disbursements of funds to schools?

There have been delays in the disbursement of capitation in the past, and we understand the challenges schools faced as a result. However, some of those delays were occasioned by the need to verify the data we had on schools and learners. The Auditor-General raised concerns that, over the past four years, some funds may have been disbursed to institutions that do not exist or on the basis of incorrect learner numbers. We, therefore, felt it was important to establish accurate figures before continuing to release public resources based on questionable data. There was a need to verify the numbers to have accurate information than to continue losing public resources.

What exactly did the verification exercise involve?

We were verifying both the existence of institutions and the actual number of learners. If a school reports that it has 1,000 learners, we need to know how many are in Grade One, Grade Two, Grade Three and the other grades. We also need information on gender distribution. We then compare those figures with the information contained in our existing systems and the data submitted by heads of institutions. Our sub-county and county education officers are also involved in confirming the numbers. This gives us a much more reliable picture of what is happening in our schools.

There have been reports of ghost schools receiving government funds. Who is to blame?

If we establish that a school does not exist but money was sent to an account purportedly belonging to that institution, then that is fraud and theft. We will hand such cases over to the relevant investigative agencies. Government money is sent to bank accounts operated by people. There are signatories and documentation used when those accounts are opened. Once we establish that an institution was fictitious, investigators can follow the trail and establish who opened and operated the account. We are first completing the verification and reconciling with the Auditor-General’s findings. That will provide a firm basis for investigations and allow the law to take its course.

Does this mean schools should expect further delays in receiving capitation?

This year, the government has been releasing funds to schools even before the beginning of the term because we have verified the number of learners in the institutions. For basic education, capitation is released in three tranches: 50 per cent in the first term, 30 per cent in the second term and 20 per cent in the third term. Our intention is to make the funding predictable and timely.

How will the transition from National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) to Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) help address these problems?

The Kenya Education Management Information System is part of the solution. We need accurate information about learners and institutions. We also need to link that information with other government agencies so that we can verify the information submitted by institutions. The objective is to eliminate the uncertainty surrounding education statistics. Once we know exactly how many learners are in every institution, the Treasury and Parliament will have a clear basis for determining how much money the education sector requires. The data will also help us make broader policy decisions. For example, if a school has only five learners at a particular level, we can assess whether it makes sense to maintain the school separately or whether it should be merged with another institution. But such decisions must also take into account the distance learners would have to travel.

Is the current 50-30-20 capitation model sustainable?

We are discussing this with the Treasury. One of the challenges is that the academic year runs from January to December, while the government financial year runs from July to June. That creates difficulties in planning for school capitation. We are examining how we can better align the two calendars. We are also looking at whether the 50-30-20 model is the most effective way of releasing funds. The Treasury has periods when it faces considerable financial pressure. We are therefore exploring whether larger portions of education funding can be released at times when the Treasury has greater liquidity. These discussions have started, and we expect to work through the issue over the next two to three months. The objective is to establish a system that makes capitation predictable.

Teacher shortages remain a major concern, particularly under Competency-Based Education. How is the government addressing the problem?

We are using data to determine where the gaps are and what kind of teachers are required. It is not enough to say that a school has 100 per cent teacher coverage. We must ask whether the teachers are distributed correctly across subjects and institutions. One school may have too many teachers in one subject and too few in another. We therefore need to know how many teachers we have, where they are, what subjects they teach and whether their distribution corresponds with the needs of learners.

There has been concern that teachers are being retrained to teach subjects outside their original areas of specialisation. Is that happening?

Retooling is not intended to turn a history teacher into a chemistry teacher. We are retooling teachers in areas related to their existing specialisations so that they can adapt to changes in the curriculum. For example, a teacher who has been teaching mathematics may require additional skills to teach effectively under Competency-Based Education because the approach, assessment methods and learning experiences have changed. The fundamentals of the subject remain, but teachers must continuously acquire skills that enable them to deliver the curriculum effectively. For specialised technical subjects, we also have teachers who were trained under the new curriculum in teacher training institutions. Some are already employed, while others are part of the pool expected to be recruited.

Why is the government placing particular emphasis on STEM teachers?

There is a deliberate bias towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics because our assessment shows that we need more teachers in those areas. These teachers are not being recruited arbitrarily. Recruitment is informed by statistics showing where the shortages exist. The intention is to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio and move towards optimum staffing levels.

What about the large number of students training as teachers in universities? The country could end up producing more teachers than it needs?

That is precisely why planning is important. If approximately 40 per cent of university entrants are pursuing education, we have to ask whether the economy will have enough vacancies to absorb all those graduates. We should determine the number of teachers required every year and then work backwards to establish how many teachers our universities should train. You cannot make good policy without credible evidence. Teacher training must be linked to actual demand.