Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration, Dr. Raymond Omollo, has defended the government’s decision to increase the budgetary allocation for the education sector, terming it as a sign of President William Ruto’s commitment to investing in the country’s future.
According to the PS, the education budget has increased by over Sh 200 billion since the Kenya Kwanza administration took office in 2022. He said that the enhanced investment will ensure that learners across all 47 counties have access to quality education and adequate learning infrastructure.
“The story of Kenya has always been closely tied to the story of education and for generations, families have invested in education because they understood it is the most reliable pathway to opportunity and progress. It is through education that we equip our young people with the knowledge, skills and values that are needed to build a better society,” he said.
“That is why as a government under the leadership of President William Ruto we are investing the biggest amount of our resources in education. It is not a matter of chance or coincidence,” he added.
Out of the Sh 4.8 trillion proposed budget for the 2026/2027 Financial Year, the government has allocated Sh 784 billion to the education sector.
According to Treasury Cabinet Secretary, John Mbadi, the budgetary allocation for the sector accounts for 26.5 percent of the country’s total budget and is a 2 percent increase from the Sh 500 billion allocation when the current administration took office in 2022.
From the budget, basic education will receive Sh 136.6 billion, while Sh 163.9 billion will be set aside for higher education. Technical Vocational Education and Training will receive Sh 58.5 billion, while another Sh 1.3 billion has been allocated to support science, innovation and research programs.
In this year’s budget, the combined funding for freeday secondary and Junior Secondary School stands at Sh 85.3 billion. Within this budget, Sh 54.6 billion will go towards free day secondary education, and Sh 30.7 billion will go towards junior secondary school capitation. Some Sh 7 billion has been set aside to support free primary education.
Similarly, the Teachers Service Commission has been allocated Sh 424 billion to cover teachers’ salaries and support the recruitment of additional teachers.
Dr Omollo said that the increased funding over the last three years had facilitated the hiring of more teachers, something that he said is aimed at ensuring learners have access to quality education. He said that the government is also investing in school infrastructure to support learning and nurture future human capital for the country.
Similarly, he said that in addition to the direct support of the sector by the government, thousands of learners also continue to benefit from bursaries under the National Government Constituency Development Fund and other support programs that are aimed at ensuring that no child is denied an education due to financial constraints.
“Education is not just having children in school; the infrastructure must be up to speed, the teachers must be there, we must build labs so that we produce the next set of human resource capital to move the nation forward. That is why there is a lot of investment in building the school infrastructure, both from government money and personal donations,” noted Dr Omollo.
The PS spoke at Chinga Boys Senior School in Nyeri on Friday, where he was the chief guest during the school’s prize-giving day.
He was accompanied by his energy counterpart, Alex Wachira.
In his address, Dr. Omollo urged the students to take advantage of the opportunities available to them, noting that education is the greatest equalizer.
While stressing the importance of embracing discipline, the PS also challenged the students to shun vices such as drug abuse and bullying that could corrupt their morals, adding that good grades alone do not guarantee success in life.
“I normally tell students that if there is anything that you really need to strive for, it is to be a disciplined student because discipline is what will take you places. You might not be the best, but if you are disciplined, you become successful and impactful in life,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of safety in schools, terming them as critical spaces for nurturing future citizens. He called on all education stakeholders and the communities to work together to ensure that learning institutions remain safe.
“Our schools must be safe spaces. It cannot be that as a parent you are back at home and you can’t sleep because you are not sure of what will happen to your child in school. With all the resources that we are putting to build the infrastructure, we must engage and talk to our students; we must work closely as communities to ensure that all these we are putting together remain safe and protected,” he said.
On his part, Energy PS called on parents to take an active role in instilling discipline in their children. He urged them to take advantage of the mid-term break to teach them the importance of safeguarding school property.
“One responsibility that we must take seriously is that of ensuring that these children are brought up to be responsible and therefore I want to urge all parents not to spare the rod because if we spare the rod on these children, they will disappoint us. We need to show them that we need to bequeath the schools to the next generation, so let us set a good example and show them the right way to go,” said Wachira.
By Wangari Mwangi
