Today will remain etched in Kenya’s fiscal calendar as Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungu is to read the second budget of Kenya Kwanza for Financial Year 2024-25 in Parliament. The Ministry of Education hopes to get the right allocation that will fund its current and future projects.
Budget Expectations for the Ministry of Education
The Ministry is hoping to get a sizeable allocation in this year’s budget to ensure the continuity and implementation of the competency based curriculum and especially for hiring junior high school teachers on permanent basis . A significant share of last year’s national budget was given to the education sector to underscore the government’s commitment to educational infrastructure development and quality enhancement.
Previous Budget Allocation
In the previous financial year, President William Ruto followed his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta in allotting the lion share to the Department of Education. To be precise, the Treasury CS Ndungu spent KSh628.6 billion on the MoE, which took 27.4 percent of the entire KSh3.68 trillion budget for the 2023-24 Financial Year. This was an increment of KSh84.2 billion from the KSh544.4 billion allocated in the 2022-23 Financial Year by President Kenyatta in his KSh3.31 trillion budget.
Strategic Priorities for the Upcoming Year
Just the other day, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu launched the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, which identified some signature projects to be implemented in the education sector. Key among them is the construction of 16,000 new classrooms for Junior Secondary Schools by December 2024. This will be a very welcome move as the number of students is growing gradually, therefore leading to a real need for infrastructure that supports the latest curriculum changes.
Looking Forward
With CS Ndungu set to read the budget, there is already great anticipation as to what allocation the Ministry of Education will get as adequate funding for its strategic plan and other ongoing projects in the sector will be needed for their successful implementation.
Key Points to Watch:
- Budget Allocation: The percentage of the total budget allocated to the Ministry of Education and how it compares to the previous years.
- Infrastructure Development: Specific allocations towards the construction of new classrooms and other infrastructure projects.
- Policy Implementation: Funding to support the implementation of new educational policies and curriculum changes.
Conclusion
The 2024-25 budget presentation is a defining moment for the Ministry of Education and indeed the entire education sector in Kenya. Many are waiting to see if the attention and expansive budgetary allocation it received in the past budgets will be sustained under the Kenya Kwanza administration. It is hence important that adequate funding is provided for the execution of the ambitious plans outlined ins the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, as well as for ensuring the educational needs are met of an increasingly large student population in Kenya.