The Controller of Budget's directive on bursary issuance, requiring intergovernmental agreements for counties seeking to fund students’ education in areas under the national government’s mandate, has created an avenue to advocate for free, quality and compulsory basic education.

Elimu Bora Working Group and the Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organizations Working Group laud the Office of the Controller of Budget's position and demand full compliance by all concerned agencies.

The right of the child should be at the center of all government decisions on education

The Constitution of Kenya states in Article 53(1)(b) that every child has the right to free and compulsory basic education.

According to Article 55(a), the State must take steps, such as affirmative action initiatives, to guarantee that young people have access to appropriate training and education.

Article 53(2) further underscores that a child’s best interests are paramount.

Article 19 notes that the Bill of Rights remains integral to the social, economic, and cultural policy framework.

The Constitution of Kenya, under Schedule Four, and subsequent legislation have delineated functions between the national and county governments.

In the education sector, the national government is responsible for universities, tertiary educational institutions, and other institutions of research and higher learning, as well as primary schools, special education, secondary schools, and special education institutions. The county governments, on the other hand, are assigned pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres, and childcare facilities.

Continued expenditure by counties on national government functions starves county government functions of essential resources. Our social accountability efforts reveal that counties struggle to deliver quality ECDE services due to a shortage of teachers, inadequate learning and play materials, and inconsistent feeding programs.

Similarly, vocational training centres face significant challenges, including a shortage of instructors, inadequate and obsolete training equipment, and poor attractiveness and utility to the youth.

On the other hand, National Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies are still implementing county government functions, as evidenced by reports from the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) presented to the Senate on August 23, 2023. These functions amount to approximately Sh272.2 billion.

President William Ruto has twice directed the transfer of all devolved functions to county governments. While IGRTC has completed the technical work of unbundling and costing functions, the subsequent gazettement process has been slow due to a lack of political goodwill.

The transfer of functions will give counties enough resources to perform their roles. As such, we demand that it be completed by July 1, 2025, to enable the National Treasury to disburse the attendant resources to county governments.

Any transfer of functions between government levels must strictly adhere to Article 187 of the Constitution and the Intergovernmental Relations Act to ensure transparency, legal compliance, and a clear resource allocation framework.

Free, quality, and compulsory basic education

Kenyans should begin demanding free, quality, and compulsory basic education as we advocate for transferring functions. Such a system would make reliance on bursaries unnecessary.

The current framework makes education inaccessible for many students, particularly those from low-income families. This forces them to seek bursary support from politicians. Often, they receive meager amounts, such as Sh3,000, which barely cover a fraction of their actual expenses.

However, success will remain out of reach if corruption persists. Corruption diverts resources that could otherwise be invested in providing free, quality, and compulsory education. This violates the essence and the provisions of the Constitution and the Basic Education Act, Sections 29 and 32.

We, therefore, call for a full audit of all the expenditures county governments have spent on bursaries and consolidation of all government bursary programs to support the implementation of free, quality, and compulsory education as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya.

Signed:

Elimu Bora Working Group (EBWG)

Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organizations Working Group (KDCWG)