Education spending to fall despite rising enrolment, more schools
Total funding for the education sector is expected to fall from Sh601.5 billion in 2023/24 to Sh594.2 billion in 2024/25, representing a 1.2 per cent decrease.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has projected a decline in government spending on education in the 2024/25 financial year, even as the number of schools and colleges continues to grow.
According to the Economic Survey 2025, total funding for the education sector is expected to fall from Sh601.5 billion in 2023/24 to Sh594.2 billion in 2024/25, representing a 1.2 per cent decrease.
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The drop comes at a time when the number of basic learning institutions increased by 38.3 per cent to 129,463 last year, largely due to the inclusion of junior secondary schools.
Recurrent expenditure, which covers salaries and day-to-day operations, is expected to decline by 1.7 per cent to Sh566.1 billion, accounting for 95.3 per cent of the total education budget.
A breakdown of the figures shows that recurrent expenditure for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is projected to rise by 3.6 per cent to Sh346.8 billion in 2024/25, making up 61.3 per cent of the total recurrent spending in the sector.
However, recurrent allocations to other departments are expected to fall. The State Department for Higher Education and Research will face a cut of 11.9 per cent to Sh80.3 billion, while the State Department for Basic Education is set to receive Sh115.9 billion, down by 7.1 per cent. The State Department for Vocational and Technical Training will see an 8.5 per cent decline to Sh23.1 billion.
Meanwhile, development expenditure, used for infrastructure and equipment, is expected to increase by 9.8 per cent to Sh28.1 billion.
The development budget for TSC is set to double from Sh0.4 billion to Sh0.8 billion, while funding for the State Department for Basic Education will grow by 33.4 per cent to Sh21 billion.
“This will account for 74.6 per cent of the total development expenditure in the sector,” KNBS said.
On the other hand, the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training will see its development budget drop by 18.6 per cent to Sh5.1 billion.
This shift in spending comes amid a steady rise in enrolment across nearly all levels of education.
Pre-primary enrolment grew from 2.88 million in 2023 to 2.91 million in 2024. Primary and junior school enrolment climbed 3.2 per cent to 10.73 million, while secondary school enrolment rose by 5.2 per cent to 4.32 million learners.
Enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions jumped by 10.4 per cent to 709,885 students, supported by a 6.9 per cent increase in the number of TVET centres to 2,756.
University enrolment is projected to rise from 579,000 to 629,100 students, even as government funding for universities is expected to fall sharply, from Sh30 billion to Sh12.9 billion in 2024/25.
Two new universities, National Intelligence Research University and Tangaza University, received charters in the past year, bringing the total number of accredited universities in the country to 72.
At the same time, the number of teachers in public primary schools declined by 3.2 per cent to 212,602 in 2024. However, staffing at secondary schools and teacher training colleges increased from 125,563 to 130,818.
The projected funding cuts, despite growing enrolment and institutional expansion, raise questions about the sustainability of educational quality and access going forward.
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