Education sector gets major boost as Ruto signs supplementary budget

Nkumu Junior Secondary school, Western region presents a French Choral Verse during the Drama and Film festival in Nyeri on April 8, 2026. [Kibata Kihu Standard] 

Kenya’s education sector is set to receive billions of shillings in additional funding following the signing of the Supplementary Appropriations Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 16 of 2026) by President William Ruto.

This pave the way for increased allocations to critical programmes across basic and higher education.

Under the approved Supplementary Estimates I for the 2025/2026 financial year, the national budget has been increased by Sh393.882 billion, raising the total expenditure from Sh4.301 trillion to Sh4.695 trillion. This represents a 9.1 percent increase above the original budget.

Of the additional funds, Sh363.882 billion will go to the national government, while Sh29.273 billion has been allocated to Consolidated Fund Services.

The supplementary estimates include an increase of Sh229.4 billion in current expenditure and an additional Sh134.46 billion for capital development projects.

The education sector is among the key beneficiaries of the revised budget, receiving significant allocations aimed at addressing funding gaps in universities, teacher salaries, technical training, and student financial support.

A major portion of the funding, Sh24.2 billion, has been allocated to the Teachers Service Commission to cover salary shortfalls and health insurance contributions for teachers.

An additional Sh3 billion has also been directed to the commission to clear pending bills related to teachers’ medical cover.

Higher education financing has also received a boost, with Sh4.1 billion allocated to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), bringing its total funding to Sh45.6 billion.

The supplementary budget also sets aside Sh3.88 billion to clear outstanding salary arrears for university staff arising from the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement and to support the Wings to Fly programme through Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions.

Further support has been directed to universities, with Sh6 billion allocated to the State Department for Higher Education to support institutions including Moi University and Kabarnet University.

In addition, Sh1.5 billion has been allocated to the Universities Fund to support the government’s scholarship programme for university students.

The supplementary budget, which was sponsored by the chairperson of the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, seeks to regularise expenditures incurred under Article 223 of the Constitution and realign the national budget to address urgent priorities such as security operations, disaster response, personnel costs and infrastructure development.

The Bill was passed by the National Assembly of Kenya with amendments on April 2, 2026, before being assented to by the President.

Universities Fund Chief Executive Officer Edwin Wanyonyi said the scholarship component of government funding is paid directly to universities.

“We need to disburse for Q4, which begins from April 1. We are waiting for the National Treasury, which may take around a week or two,” Wanyonyi said, noting that about Sh4.2 billion is still outstanding.

According to Wanyonyi, the government has already released funding for the first three quarters of the academic year.

“We have already paid for Q1, Q2, and Q3 disbursements to universities in terms of scholarships for all the students based on resource allocation,” he said