Mbadi's bag of goodies for teachers and lecturers

Treasury CS John Mbadi before reading the 2026 Budget Estimates at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi, on June 11, 2026. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Teachers, lecturers and students are set for a major windfall in the 2026/2027 financial year after Treasury CS John Mbadi unveiled a record Sh784.5 billion allocation to the education sector, in what signals one of the most expansive funding commitments in recent years.

The massive allocation cuts across the entire learning chain, with Sh424.3 billion going to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Sh136.6 billion to basic education, Sh163.9 billion to higher education, Sh58.5 billion to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Sh1.3 billion set aside for science, innovation and research.

The allocation positions education as one of the biggest winners in the 2026/2027 budget, with the government betting on heavy investment in human capital to drive long-term economic growth.

At the centre of the windfall are teachers, who are set to benefit from a fresh recruitment drive and accelerated confirmation to permanent terms.

Mbadi announced plans to hire 16,000 new intern teachers, with Sh8.2 billion allocated for the exercise, even as another 20,000 intern teachers currently in their second year will be confirmed to permanent and pensionable terms at a cost of Sh4.9 billion.

The 20,000 teachers were recruited in 2024.

“To put it simply, it is an average of 20,000 teachers each year. All other governments have been employing an average of 10,000 teachers annually,” Mbadi said.

And in a first, the government will also break from the traditional two-year internship cycle, with 24,000 teachers recruited in January 2025 set to be confirmed in July 2027 after serving for just one and a half years.

The move, which comes just months before the 2027 General Election, is likely to inject fresh debate into the government’s employment strategy.

At the same time, teachers who marked the 2025 KCSE examinations are set for a payout, with Sh1.5 billion allocated to settle their dues this July.

At the same time, the government has pumped billions into basic education programmes, including Sh7.0 billion for Free Primary Education, Sh54.6 billion for Free Day Secondary Education and Sh30.7 billion for Junior Secondary School capitation.

An additional Sh9.9 billion has been allocated for the administration of national examinations, while Sh3.0 billion will support the school feeding programme.

To improve infrastructure and learning conditions, Mbadi proposed Sh4.1 billion for primary and secondary school infrastructure, Sh2.1 billion for construction and equipping of TVET centres, Sh7.1 billion for the Kenya Primary Education Equity in Learning Programme and Sh4.7 billion for the Kenya Secondary Education Improvement Project.

Lecturers are also set for a major boost, with Sh6.7 billion allocated for salary increments and settlement of long-standing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) arrears, including the 2017–2021 cycle, as well as the ongoing 2025–2029 agreement.

University and college students have not been left behind.

The government has set aside Sh56.3 billion for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) to support learners with study loans, alongside Sh30.9 billion for university scholarships under the student-centred funding model introduced in 2023.

TVET trainees will also benefit from Sh9.2 billion in scholarships, while Sh5.9 billion has been earmarked for ongoing university projects across the country.