Education PS Julius Bitok joins St George’s Girls’ Secondary School community in Kilimani for their Thanksgiving Day on July 18, 2025. /JULIUS BITOK/XEducation PS Julius Bitok now says the government has no plans to scrap free education, despite revelations by Treasury CS John Mbadi that the model of funding is unsustainable and can only be partially met.
Speaking on Friday during a prize-giving day at St Thomas Girls Secondary School in Kilifi county, Bitok said the ministry will lobby Parliament to enhance budget allocations to meet capitation and exam costs.
“I want to assure the country that the policy on free primary and secondary education has not changed. The government will continue financing education through capitation as it has been over the years.”
He acknowledged that the government was facing growing demands in the sector but it was working even harder to ensure available resources reach every learner, especially through capitation.
His remarks come a day after Mbadi told the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education that the Treasury would be disbursing only Sh16,900 per learner, far below the promised Sh22,244 annual capitation for secondary school learners.
“Let us not lie to ourselves. The budget cannot support the Sh22,000 capitation. We don’t have the capacity to offer free primary and secondary schools,” Mbadi said.
The Sh16,900 per learner is Sh5,344 less than what had been communicated by the Ministry of Education, meaning parents will be forced to meet the deficit from their pockets.
The CS revealed that the number of learners in public schools is far higher than was initially thought.
Mbadi ruled out the review of the rates to further ease the fees burden off parents.
Currently, learners are provided with tuition and operational costs at the rate of Sh1,420, Sh15,042, and Sh22,244 per learner in primary, junior school, and senior secondary school, respectively.
“However, due to constrained fiscal space and other emerging priorities within the education sector, updating these rates might be untenable. The government will, however, consider reviewing these rates should revenue performance improve,” Mbadi told MPs on Thursday.
He appeared before the House alongside Education CS Julius Ogamba to apprise the committee on the implementation of the 2024–2025 budget.
“Despite this, we recognise underfunding in some of the programmes under the education sector, which will be addressed should revenue performance improve."
The cut triggered an uproar from MPs, who accused the government of misleading the public and undermining its pledge to provide free education.
But Bitok defended Mbadi saying his remarks had been misinterpreted.
“What he underscored, and what we reaffirm, is the need for closer collaboration with Parliament to ensure that education funding keeps pace with the growing needs of our learners,” he said.
The capitation cuts come despite the Education Ministry having been allocated Sh702.7 billion—the lion’s share of the Sh4.239 trillion 2025–26 budget.
The news came as a shocker, considering many public secondary schools had budgeted based on the Sh22,244 figure.
Many schools are already struggling with cash flow problems, and some have sent students home, slashed activities, or launched fundraising appeals to stay afloat.
