Education sector handed Sh628b to tackle inequity

The education sector was yesterday allocated Sh628.6 billion in the Financial Year 2023/24, with sharper focus on  learning outcomes in the country.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u said out of the proposed allocation, Sh12.5 billion will cater for Free Primary Education and Sh65.4 billion for Free Day Secondary Education, including insurance under National Health Insurance Fund for secondary school students.

“The ultimate means of ensuring an equitable society is through investment in education, as part of human capital development. For this reason, the government will continue to address inequities in our education system so as to level the playing field for all children irrespective of their background,” said Ndung’u in his maiden budget, which took three hours and 20 minutes to present.

Another Sh25.5 billion has been allocated Junior Secondary School (JSS) capitation, Sh5 billion to support examination fee waiver and Sh4.8 billion for recruitment of 20,000 intern teachers while Sh1 billion will be used for promotion of teachers.

Other allocations in the education sector are Sh4.9 billion to go towards school feeding programme and Sh940 million for provision of sanitary towels.

The CS also proposed to the National Assembly to effect budget allocations of Sh1.3 billion for training of teachers on Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

Similarly, some Sh400 million has been allocated to the Digital Literacy Programme  and ICT Integration in secondary schools.

New model

“To support infrastructure development and ensure safe learning in our schools, I propose to the National Assembly to effect budget allocations of Sh6 billion for primary and secondary schools’ infrastructure including classrooms for Junior Secondary Schools and Sh1.9 billion for construction and equipping of Technical Training Institutes and Vocational Training Centres,” added the CS.

 Similarly, a proposed Sh1.8 billion was made to increase access and improve the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) programmes under the East Africa Skills Transformation and Regional Integration Project.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is expected to receive a budget allocation to of Sh316.7 billion.

Amidst the new financing model for institutions of higher learning to be effected in the new academic year starting in September, the CS said the Government has a proposed an allocation of Sh97.5 billion to university education while Sh30.3 billion will go to the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) and Sh5.2 billion capitations for Tvet students.

Similarly, Sh2.7 billion has been allocated to the Kenya Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project.

The CS also said that Sh980 million is proposed for Tvet and Entrepreneurship, another Sh1.5 billion for promotion of youth employment and vocational training while Sh749 million has been allocated to Research, Science, Technology and Innovation.