Sakaja appeals for extra funds to expand Dishi na County to informal schools

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Education at Bunge Tower on October 30, 2025. (Photo: Nairobi County)

By Lucy Mumbi
Thursday, October 30, 2025

Sakaja said that despite the county’s efforts to reach all learners, limited resources and infrastructure have hindered the inclusion of children in informal settlements.

Nairobi County has appealed for additional funding to expand its school feeding initiative, Dishi na County, to cover informal schools, citing financial constraints that have slowed the programme’s rollout.

Speaking on Thursday before the Senate Standing Committee on Education at Bunge Tower, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said that despite the county’s efforts to reach all learners, limited resources and infrastructure have hindered the inclusion of children in informal settlements.

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Sakaja said the county government is developing a plan to ensure learners in informal schools also benefit from the feeding programme. He explained that the county is currently mapping out public schools situated near informal learning institutions as a short-term solution to allow children from informal areas to access meals during lunchtime.

“In the 230 public schools we have in Nairobi, we operate 17 central kitchens that currently feed 316,000 learners. To include all informal schools, we would need 69 more kitchens. It’s a budget issue. As we work on that, we’ve identified nearby public schools where children from informal schools can go during lunch to have a meal,” Sakaja told the committee.

The governor noted that extending Dishi na County to informal schools would require not only more funding but also additional infrastructure support to sustain the programme’s quality and reach.

“If it were up to me, every single child in Nairobi would be on Dishi na County, including those in informal schools,” he added.

Launched by the Nairobi City County Government in 2023, Dishi na County provides daily nutritious meals to learners in public primary and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres across the city. The initiative has been praised for improving school attendance, retention and concentration levels, particularly in low-income areas.

However, senators questioned how the county plans to extend the programme to thousands of children enrolled in informal schools, many of whom have yet to benefit from the initiative. They expressed concern that a large portion of Nairobi’s school-going population still depends on informal learning institutions, which remain outside the official feeding framework despite their vital role in basic education.

In response, Sakaja raised broader education challenges in the capital, including limited classroom spaces and growing demand for bursaries.

“The 210 public schools we have cannot meet the demand for our population of over seven million people. Getting land for new schools is a major challenge because it’s scarce and expensive,” he said.

He added that while the county is currently constructing 1,500 ECDE classrooms, the national government is putting up an additional 5,000 classrooms to help bridge the gap.

Sakaja called for affirmative action to increase the number of public schools in Nairobi, noting that the existing institutions are “far from adequate” to meet the city’s educational needs.

“If Nairobi is to meet the educational needs of all its children, especially those in informal settlements, both county and national governments must collaborate to expand infrastructure and support inclusive feeding programmes,” he said.