"Let Us Adjust First", Woman Rep Says on Plan to Consolidate Education Funds

Tharaka-Nithi County Woman Representative Susan Ngugi has urged the government to allow room for more dialogue regarding the contentious newly proposed policies by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, aimed at consolidating all education funding into a single basket.

The Treasury CS, noting that the government could no longer fully fund free primary and secondary education in Kenya, proposed that all education funding, including allocations from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), and County Bursary Funds, be consolidated into one fund under the management of the Treasury for equitable distribution.

In her response, Tharaka-Nithi Woman Representative Susan Ngugi said the proposals require more time for consultation and should allow existing programs to be adjusted and redistributed to ensure beneficiaries are not neglected during the transition.

“We made plans and promises to sponsor these students, some up to tertiary levels. Let the government give us timelines to adjust our disbursements and make plans to ensure those already benefiting from current programs are not neglected,” she said.

According to her, the new proposals, if well managed and properly accounted for, could support the implementation of free and compulsory basic education in Kenya.

“Nothing justifies a child being at home. As a government, we should strive to have every child in school. I am currently supporting students through NGAAF, which is not enough to cover the whole county. As a leader, my happiness would be to see free education working and fully implemented,” she added.

While appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education, CS Mbadi said the government could not sustain full capitation of KShs 22,224 per secondary school student and could only manage KShs 16,600.

The CS noted that since the introduction of free day secondary school, the government has not been able to allocate the full KShs 22,224 per student, resulting in debts owed to schools.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok defended the government, stating that they will lobby Parliament to bridge the funding gap for capitation and national examinations.

The Ministry of Education received an allocation of KShs 702 billion in the current financial year.

The Woman Representative was speaking at Maara Constituency on Sunday, 28 July when she issued a cheque worth KShs 125,000 to Tharaka-Nithi Press Group for table banking.