Before you vote: The truth about free education

Students of Lenana School in Karen, Nairobi County sit for their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam at the school hall on November 7, 2016. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

“Twataka kuhakikisha ya kwamba, na tumetenga pesa, mwaka ujao, hatutaki mtoto wote wa Kenya akose kufika Form Four kwa sababu mzazi amekosa karo. Na kutoka Januari ya next year, mapenzi ya mwenyezi Mungu akipupatia nguvu tufike, hakuna mzazi atalipia mtoto wake school fees kutoka Standard hadi Form Four.” –President Uhuru Kenyatta speaking at Donholm Estate on the way to present his nomination papers to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)as the Jubilee Party’s presidential candidate, May 29, 2017.

“We want to make sure that, and we have set aside funds, that the coming year, we do not want a Kenyan child not to reach Form Four because a parent cannot pay school fees. And from January next year, If God gives us the strength to get there, no parent will pay fees for a child from Standard One until Form Four.”

 

Has the government set aside funds for free secondary education?

Although President Uhuru Kenyatta says that “we” have set aside funds, he does not make it clear whether he means the Jubilee party or the government. However, it is clear he cannot actually set aside funds for any project until his party is re-elected, given that there is no such allocation in the current 2017/2018 budget.

In this year’s, budget, for reference purposes, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich allocated Sh14 billion for Free Primary Education and Sh33 billion for Free Day Secondary Education. Presumably, Jubilee would improve significantly on this Sh47 billion.

There is nothing wrong with Jubilee making its own calculations on how much such a program would cost. However, the President did not mention a figure, so it is difficult to determine the feasibility of the promise and how the money would be raised.

Notably, the President did not mention caveats that would apply to such a program, such as the ability of parents to pay, assuming that just public schools would benefit.

Without knowing how much money the government proposes to spend, it is difficult to cost the program. Given that Mr Kenyatta needs to be re-elected before such a programme is enacted, his campaign promise in Donholm remains a promise.