By Sadik Hassan and Covenant Njeru
The government will strengthen the existing school auditing department to ensure proper financial management of public funds.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said auditing of funds given to schools countrywide will continue to be done, noting that the Ministry of Education will receive a whopping KSh702.7 billion, the largest share in the 2025/2026 national budget of Sh4.239 Trillion.
“The allocated budget is almost 28 per cent of the entire budget, and we have already surpassed the UNESCO recommendation that 20 per cent of a nation’s budget be allocated to education. We will work within that figure. We will try as much as possible to ensure those resources are utilized optimally and effectively, without undue wastage, to cover the largest number of our students,” he stated.
Speaking during the inaugural National Retreat of Public Universities Councils in Mombasa, the CS stated that for instance, if audit reports show that the head teacher of a particular school has misappropriated funds, then whoever is found culpable will be held to account.
He said out of the KSh702.7 billion allocation, the Teachers Service Commission will receive KSh387.2 billion, including KSh7.2 billion earmarked for the recruitment of intern teachers.
At the same time, to address the teachers’ gap, the government plans to recruit 24,000 intern teachers in the first quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year. Additionally, KSh5.9 billion has been set aside for national examinations, while the School Feeding Programme will receive KSh3 billion. Free Primary Education will also benefit from KSh7 billion.
The CS also allayed fears that the budget for the School Feeding Programme has been cut, saying learners from Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and informal settlements will continue to enjoy their meals to boost school attendance and retention.
Meanwhile, Ogamba welcomed the recent High Court verdict outlawing the imposition of extra levies by schools, affirming that the government’s position doesn’t allow Head teachers or Principals to levy any extra amount that is not in state policies.
“Those levies, as we had said before, are illegal, and the court was just affirming our position that no levy should be added by school administrators to parents because we give free education and capitation to all institutions,” he said.
The CS further warned school heads imposing extra levies not permitted by the government that they will face the full force of the law.
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