Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has called for free education at all levels in Kenya. Speaking on Tuesday, Onyonka argued that the budget allocated to the Education ministry is sufficient to make education free.
He compared the current budget of the Education ministry to the entire budget used by President Mwai Kibaki during his first two years in office. Onyonka questioned why the same amount of money that once funded the entire country cannot fully support the Ministry of Education and provide free education.
The Senator criticized the mismanagement of these funds, suggesting that they often end up in private pockets rather than being used to support education.
“University, primary, and secondary education in Kenya must be free,” Onyonka said on Citizen TV. “We are allocating Sh633 billion a year to the Ministry of Education. This is the same amount President Kibaki used to run the entire country during his initial years in office. Why can’t this budget cover education? The money meant for free schooling is being misappropriated.”
Onyonka was discussing the controversial new Financing Model for education, which President William Ruto’s administration defends as addressing the needs of the most disadvantaged.
In the 2024/25 national budget, the education sector saw a significant increase, receiving Sh656.6 billion out of the Sh3.92 trillion total budget, which is 27.6 percent of the fiscal estimates. This is up from Sh544.4 billion in the previous year.
The allocation includes Sh358.2 billion for the Teachers Service Commission, Sh142.3 billion for the Department of Basic Education, and Sh128 billion for the Department of Higher Education and Research.
