Cs John Mbadi has said that it is upto Members of parliament to allocate enough money to education sector
Treasury Cs John Mbadi now claims that he was misunderstood by Kenyan when he said that the government can no longer fund free education

CS John Mbadi now claims he was misquoted in his Friday pronouncement that government cannot sustain the free education programme due to budget constraints. https://zurl.co/7SIZA

Posted by NTV Kenya on Sunday 27 July 2025

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has now claims that he had been misquoted, stressing that his message was an appeal to lawmakers to increase funding for education rather than a warning to parents about looming school fees.

further spoken about controversial remarks he made last week that appeared to cast doubt on the sustainability of the government’s free education programme, saying his comments were directed at Parliament, not the public.

“I was speaking to policymakers. I was speaking to members of Parliament who approve the budget,” the CS told a rally in Nyatike, Migori County, on Saturday. “I told them we must enhance the budget for capitation so that every child receives 22,000 shillings. What we have in the budget today is less than 22,000.”

Acknowledged the government’s fiscal challenges, Mbadi, however, said parents should not be alarmed.
If you want me to lie to Kenyans, I am not ready to lie to Kenyans,” he said. “We must budget so that every child is supported as the policy says.”

Mbadi says the funding gap is not a new issue, attributing it to systemic challenges that predate the current administration.
His remarks come amid growing concern over a reduction in government capitation per student from Ksh.22,000 to about Ksh.17,000 annually, which some education stakeholders say could burden public schools and affect the quality of learning.

The Cs has  urged MPs to work closely with the Treasury to ensure education remains fully funded: “We must work with Parliament to make sure that we have enough money to run our schools.”

The finance minister assured parents that the government remains committed to free basic education and has no intention of shifting the cost burden to them.

Mbadi first attracted criticism when he appeared before a Parliamentary committee on Thursday and said that the financial burden of free education is too heavy for the State to sustain, intimating that parents will soon be forced to dig deeper into their pockets.

President William Ruto on Sunday reiterated his government’s commitment to ensuring free, accessible, and quality education for all Kenyan children, describing education as “the greatest gift a society can give to its young people.”

“I assure you that the access and quality of education cannot be compromised,” the President stated during a church service at ACK St Martin’s Light Industries Church in Kariobangi, Nairobi, adding that his government was committed to making education not only affordable and inclusive, but also of good quality and relevant to Kenya’s development needs.

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