CS Mbadi: Education sector allocated Ksh784.5 billion in 2026/2027 Budget
By Emmanuel Rono, June 11, 2026Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury John Mbadi has proposed an allocation of Ksh784.5 billion to the education sector in the 2026/2027 financial year, saying the government has significantly increased funding and is not defunding education as alleged.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, while reading the budget on June 11, 2026, Mbadi said the allocation represents 26.4 per cent of the ministerial budget and marks a 49 per cent increase compared to the 2021/2022 financial year when the current administration took over.
“A lot has been said about defunding education, but in 2026-27, we are proposing Ksh784.5 billion, which is 26.4 per cent of the ministerial budget. Compare that to the 2021-2022 budget before this administration came into office. The budget for education was Ksh526 billion,” he said.
He added that the share of the budget dedicated to education has also increased over time.
“That has increased now by 49 per cent, and it was 24.5 per cent of the ministerial budget. Now it is 26.5 per cent of the ministerial budget. Therefore, Mr Speaker, it is not correct that this government, this administration, is defunding education. In fact, we are funding it more,” Mbadi said.
Money allocation within the sector
The Treasury boss broke down the proposed allocation, noting that Ksh 424 billion will go to the Teachers Service Commission for teacher salaries and related costs.
“So this Ksh784.5 billion includes Kenya shillings, Ksh424 billion to the Teacher Service Commission for payment of our teachers. And that has moved from Ksh290 billion in 2022 to now Ksh421 billion,” he said.
For basic education, Mbadi said Ksh 136.6 billion has been proposed, while higher education will receive Ksh 163.9 billion. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) will get Ksh 58.5 billion, with Ksh 1.3 billion allocated for science, innovation and research.
On free education programmes, Mbadi proposed Ksh 7 billion for free primary education, Ksh 54.6 billion for free day secondary education, and KSh 30.7 billion for junior secondary education.
“Those two lines, the free day secondary education, Ksh54.6, plus junior secondary education of Ksh30.7, add to a total of Ksh 85.3 billion. What was it in 2022? In 2022, it was 62.4 billion shillings,” he said.
National examination allocation
Mbadi further proposed Ksh 3 billion for the school feeding programme, Ksh 9.9 billion for national examinations, and confirmed that teachers’ exam marking arrears of Ksh 1.5 billion will be cleared before the end of the financial year.
“I am proposing Ksh4.9 billion to be provided for conversion of 20,000 intern teachers into permanent and pensionable from January 2027… Further, the newly recruited 24,000 intern teachers will be converted into permanent and pensionable terms in July 2027,” he said.