How Health and Education fared in 2025-26 Budget allocation

Treasury CS John Mbadi. [File, Standard] Health and education remain key pillars in the 2025/26 budget proposal tabled by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, with each receiving some of the largest individual allocations in the country's fiscal plan. Presenting the budget to Parliament on Thursday, June 12, Mbadi said the education sector will receive Sh702.7 billion, the largest allocation across all ministries and agencies. He said this includes Sh387.2 billion for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Sh28.9 billion for Junior Secondary School capitation, Sh7.2 billion for hiring intern teachers, and Sh980 million for training teachers on the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Free Day Secondary Education has been allocated Sh51.9 billion, Free Primary Education Sh7 billion, and national exams Sh5.9 billion. The school feeding programme has been given Sh3 billion, while vocational training and entrepreneurship projects will receive Sh4 billion. Mbadi also proposes Sh1.7 billion for infrastructure in primary and secondary schools and Sh1.4 billion for the construction and equipping of vocational centres. Another Sh13.3 billion has been allocated to the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Programme, and Sh2.3 billion for the Secondary School Quality Improvement Project. The Higher Education Loans Board is set to receive Sh41.5 billion, an increase from Sh35 billion in the current financial year. University student scholarships have been allocated Sh16.9 billion, while technical and vocational students will receive Sh7.7 billion in scholarships and capitation. However, despite these allocations, Treasury flagged several unresolved issues. Mbadi said the government is still assessing how to fund national examinations going forward. He noted that the current model may not be sustainable, suggesting a possible shift to targeting support only to vulnerable students. "There is a need to undertake a critical evaluation on the costing of examinations... including evaluating possible cost-sharing mechanisms," said Mbadi. He also acknowledged that the new university education financing model and the implementation of Collective Bargaining Agreements were exerting pressure on available resources. Health Allocation The health sector was allocated Sh138.1 billion in the proposed budget. This includes Sh13.1 billion for primary health care, Sh6.2 billion for Universal Health Coverage coordination, and Sh430 million for medical cover targeting orphans, elderly people and persons with disabilities. Mbadi said he government has proposed Sh17.3 billion for the Global Fund to address HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and Sh4.6 billion for vaccines and immunisation. The Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illnesses Fund will receive Sh8 billion, up from Sh5 billion in the current year. To strengthen cancer care, Sh100 million will go to Kenyatta National Hospital, Sh100 million to Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, and Sh1 million to establish a cancer centre at Kisii Level 5 Hospital. The minister further allocated Sh42.2 billion to referral hospitals, including Moi Teaching and Referral, Mwai Kibaki, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenyatta National, and Mathari. Mbadi also proposed Sh1.3 billion for a burns and paediatric centre at Kenyatta National Hospital, Sh5.2 billion for the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency, and Sh2.7 billion for the Kenya Medical Research Institute. Medical interns have also been allocated Sh4.3 billion, community health promoters Sh3.2 billion, and the Kenya Medical Training Centre Sh8.9 billion. Training of other health personnel will receive Sh303 million. Mbadi said more than 22 million Kenyans have registered with the newly established Social Health Authority. However, the budget statement did not outline how the authority will be operationalised, what services it will provide, or how hospitals will be reimbursed. Mental health was also left out of the allocations. Although Mathari Hospital was mentioned as a beneficiary of general hospital funding, no separate provision was made for mental health services. The budget made no mention of funding for public health emergency preparedness or epidemic surveillance systems, despite recent experiences with disease outbreaks. Mbadi said the government is aware of the pressures Kenyans face due to inflation and taxes, adding, inflation had eased to 3.8 per cent in May 2025, down from a high of 9.6 per cent in October 2022. He noted the budget aims to stay responsive while maintaining fiscal discipline.

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