Governors are demanding the full devolution of the
education function, following their ongoing standoff with Controller of
Budget Margaret Nyakang’o over the management of bursary funds.
The push came a day after county chiefs held a meeting with
Nyakang’o in an attempt to regain control of the bursaries.
However, the CoB maintained that her February circular—which effectively barred counties from administering bursary funds for
secondary schools and universities—remains in force.
“The requirements are still the same as per my circular of
January 2025. Counties must submit a valid intergovernmental agreement,”
Nyakang’o told the Star.
She clarified that even with a valid agreement, bursaries
for secondary and university students should only be funded by the national
government.
“The funds for secondary and university bursaries should
come from the national government. Bursaries for TVET and ECDE should come from
the county budget,” she said.
Appearing before the Senate Education Committee on Thursday,
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja confirmed the meeting with Nyakang’o had
provided new guidelines on the matter.
“Our bursaries and scholarships are now going to resume
because we are following the CoB’s guidelines,” Sakaja said.
While resolving to summon Nyakang’o to explain the
guidelines further, the committee maintained the issuance of bursaries for
secondary and university students is a national government function.
“You want to pay the bill for the national government,” said nominated Senator Catherine Mumma.
“When you take over the functions of the other level, some
responsibilities will suffer. The correct position is that governors can assist
students only through conditional grants until the function is formally
transferred.”
However, Sakaja insisted that counties should take full
charge of the education function, arguing that devolved governments understand
the needs of their constituents better.
“We are better placed as counties to run the education
function. We understand the needs of our people. What we need is a full
transfer of the function—what we have now is a mongrel,” he said.
In her circular, Nyakang’o had cited the Constitution’s
Fourth Schedule, which assigns functions such as universities, tertiary
institutions, primary schools, secondary schools and special needs education
to the national government.
“Conversely, Part 2 of the Fourth Schedule assigns
pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres and childcare
facilities to county governments,” she said.
But Sakaja defended counties for continuing to offer
bursaries despite the constitutional restrictions, saying it was a political
and moral imperative.
“The counties have no option but to ensure that bright and
needy students go to school. This role cannot be left entirely to the national
government,” he told the committee chaired by nominated Senator Betty Montet.
“In Nairobi county, we have spent Sh1.8 billion on school
bursaries in the last two years compared to Sh3 billion used by previous
administrations over 10 years. We must ensure that needy and bright students
get an education,” he said.
Senator Mumma questioned why counties were determined to
continue giving bursaries despite the constitutional limits, arguing that they
should only do so if allocated conditional grants by the national government.
Sakaja responded that counties were not encroaching on
national functions but complementing them.
“Most counties don’t see bursaries as interference. We are
already building classrooms and employing ECDE teachers—these are essential
aspects of education too,” he said.
He added that discontinuing bursaries would be politically
untenable for county leaders.
“In Nairobi, we have given bursaries to 134,000 deserving
students. Imagine what would happen if we said we won’t support them because
it’s a national government role. No governor will dare do that—it would be
political suicidal,” Sakaja stated.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, however, took Sakaja to task
over the shortage of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres in
some city wards, saying the deficit was affecting learning.
“Some wards such as Ruai, Korogocho and Kayole Central have
only one ECDE centre. This is a serious gap that must be addressed,” Sifuna
said.