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The KENYA INSTITUTE for PUBLIC

POLICY RESEARCH and ANALYSIS


No. 64/2018-2019
Supporting Sustainable Development through Research and Capacity Building

Education and Training Budget Brief


Preface
This education and training budget brief is among five (5) budget briefs which seek to identify the extent to which
the needs of children are addressed by the national budget, especially in the social sector. This brief presents the size
and composition of the 2013/14-2017/18 education and training budgets, and reviews the likely effects on service
provision for children’s needs. The brief is organized as follows: Introduction; Education and Training Spending Trends;
Composition of Spending; Budget Credibility; Decentralization and Education and Training Spending; Equity in
Education and Training Spending; and Financing Sources.

Key Messages and Recommendations


The analysis has demonstrated the following emerging policy issues:
(i) Kenya has attained substantial improvements in access to education, but about one million children
are still not in primary school. Implementation of programmes to foster equity in education and reduce the
number of out of school children need to be explored, including identification of most vulnerable children for
targeted assistance, and school feeding and targeted scholarships. Further, the education sector will need to
target counties with lowest number of schooling years.
(ii) Education and training have remained a priority investment for the government. The sector accounted for
5.2 per cent of GDP and 21.0 per cent of government outlays in 2017/18. There is need to ensure more focus on
strengthening the link between education resource inputs, outputs and outcomes.
(iii) The government needs to revisit the capitation grant system to ensure that resources are targeted to
those students and regions that have fallen behind, and introduce capitation grants for pre-primary
education. There is also need for a comprehensive system of tracking not only education and training spending
and progress, but also transition to workforce to ensure that education investments enhance learning outcomes
and labour market prospects.
(iv) The education budget almost exclusively supports recurrent spending, mainly wages (52%) and transfers
for free primary and secondary education (40%). Given the continuous growth of student numbers, the
sector could work to increase the share of development expenditure dedicated to infrastructure beyond the
current 7 per cent level.
(v) The budgets allocated to technical and university education are underspent by up to a significant 30 per
cent. Greater attention is necessary to identify and remove spending bottlenecks in these areas, especially in the
capital budgets.
(vi) An integrated approach to social sector plans and budgets on service delivery is lacking. This hinders
comprehensive tracking, monitoring and analysis of government efforts focused on children. A multi-sectorial
approach in planning, budgeting and monitoring is critical to encourage synergies across the social sectors.
(vii) Mechanisms for collecting and processing data and information are being integrated in the education
sector. However, the data system needs to be strengthened to ensure data integrity, regular data collection
and utilization for decision making. It is necessary to ensure availability, credibility and disaggregation of data
to a level that would enable micro-analysis to inform policy, especially on issues related to children needs at
sub-national levels. A centralized platform and working group with participation from counties is necessary in
ensuring sustainability of the integrated data and information for education and training; and to support regular
data collection and utilization for decision making.

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 1


(viii) Households financing of direct education costs was estimated at 37 per cent during the
review period. There is need to explore strategies for reducing such financing burden, especially
among vulnerable households, such as those in urban informal settlements. The strategies
could include improved targeted financing of educational services, and institutionalizing of the
National Education Accounts system to strengthen the integration of Information Communication
Technology (ICT) in capturing education resources from various sources, their management, and
programme implementation processes.

Introduction
Kenya’s national education priorities include ensuring universal, inclusive, quality and relevant
education and training that is accessible to all. Against the backdrop of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), Kenya’s key policies, plans and strategies that guide the education sector include aspects
of the Kenya Vision 2030, its five-year rolling Medium-Term Plans (MTPs), national education sector plans,
and the County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) (Table 1). SDG 4 focuses on quality education and
Goal 5 on gender equality. Further, the Constitution of Kenya (2010) provides that all citizens have a
right to access quality basic education (which includes pre-primary, primary and secondary education),
while the national policy strives for 100 per cent transition to secondary education. The government is
actively supporting the revitalization of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and the
expansion of university education, notably in the areas of science, technology and innovation.
The government is implementing curriculum reforms in education and training. A competence-
based education and training curriculum will radically change the design and delivery of education and
training to ensure it is aligned to the objectives and aspirations of the Kenya Vision 2030. The curriculum
reforms focus on individual learner’s potential, competencies and human resource development for
industrialization and global competitiveness.

School age population and enrolment


The school age population constitutes about 46 per cent of Kenya’s population. The
number is set to expand by 20 per cent between 2018 and 2030, with the highest expansion
expected in post primary education levels. From Figure 1, pre-primary (age 4-5 years), primary (age 6-13

Table 1: Strategic framework for education and training sector


Period 2008-2030
National Long Term Development Plan Kenya Vision 2030
Medium Term Plan (2018/19 - 2022/23 Medium Term Plan III
Early Childhood Development Policy and Early Childhood Development Policy and
County CIDPS (2018/19 - 2022/23) County Integrated Development Plans
National Education Sector Policy (2013) National Education Sector Policy

years), secondary (age 14-17 years), and tertiary education (age 18-21 years) population is expected to
increase by 14.5 per cent, 14.6 per cent, 20.6 percent and 28.8 per cent, respectively. The national and
county governments must plan adequately for their target populations at respective levels of schooling
for improved human capital development and future labour productivity.
Aggregate basic education enrolment increased by 7.8 per cent during the review period from
15.3 million in 2014 to 16.5 million in 2017. Pre-primary enrolment grew by 9 per cent from 3.0
million to 3.2 million (Table 2). This increase is attributable to the expansion of pre-primary education
centres, integration of pre-primary education into basic education, devolution of preprimary education
function to county governments, demand for pre-primary education before joining primary school, and
the hiring of more pre-primary teachers by county governments.
Primary and secondary education enrolment expanded substantially during the review period.
Implementation of Free Primary Education (FPE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) has resulted
in their respective enrolments increasing by 5 per cent and 20 per cent, as the absolute numbers show
in Table 2. Primary and secondary school education capitation grants were also enhanced from Ksh
1,020 and Ksh 10,265 respectively, to Ksh 1,420 and Ksh 22,244, in 2017, for all learners in public primary
and secondary schools, respectively. The government is also committed to 100 per cent transition from

2 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 1: School age populations by level of education, 2018 and 2030 (in millions)

12.1
10.6

5.6 5.3
4.6 4.1
2.8 3.2

Pre-school Primary Secondary Tertiary


2018 2030

Source: KNBS Population Projections (2012)

primary to secondary school. Other initiatives which have led to increased enrolment include
enhanced investments in school infrastructure and recruitment of additional teachers.
Efforts towards achieving greater equity in the education sector have led to near gender
parity at pre-primary, primary and secondary school levels. The respective Gender Parity
Index (GPI) scores were 0.96, 0.97 and 0.95 for the pre-primary, primary and secondary education

Table 2: Enrolment in pre-primary, primary, secondary, TVET and university education (2014-2017)
Pre-primary 2014 2015 2016 2017
Total enrollments ‘000 3,020 3,168 3,200 3,294
Gender parity index 1.1 0.97 0.96 0.96
Total no. of teachers 104,784 107,187 110,819 118,276
Pupil-teacher ratio 28.8 29.6 28.9 27.8
Primary
Total enrollments ‘000 9,951 10,091 10,280 10,404
Gender parity index 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97
Private enrollment (%) 7.8 6.8 8.4 8.0
Total no. of teachers 200,758 210,868 214,990 217,532
Pupils-teacher ratio (public) 45.7 44.6 43.8 44.0
Primary completion rate (%) 79.3 82.7 83.5 83.6
Primary secondary transition rate (%) 76.1 81.9 81.3 81.8
Secondary
Total enrollments ‘000 2,332 2,558 2,721 2,831
Gender parity index 0.92 0.90 0.95 0.95
Private enrollment (%) 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7
Number of pupils per teacher (Public) 27.6 27.9 28.5 29.0
Technical enrolment 147,821 153,314 202,556 275,139
University enrolment 443,782 510,685 523,706 520,863
Proportion of enrolment in private universities (%) 18.1 15.3 16.3 15.5
Source: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2018), Economic Survey

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 3


levels in 2017. Gender parity (GPI score of 1) is attained when enrolment of female students as a
proportion of total female population equals enrolment of male students as a proportion of total
male population. Significant interventions have included targeted school meals programmes,
elimination of fees charges, emphasis on enforcement of fees guidelines, expansion of education
opportunities in arid and semi-arid lands and other hardship areas, expansion of low-cost
boarding public schools in arid areas, provision of enhanced special needs education grants,
provision of sanitary towels to teenage female learners in public primary and secondary schools;
targeted secondary school bursaries, community mobilization and stakeholder support for basic
education; and the school re-entry policy for girls after delivery.
Kenya is on track to improve internal efficiency in basic education. Between 2014 and 2017,
both the completion rate of primary schooling and the transition rate to secondary schooling
improved (Table 2). The proportion of pupils who completed primary schooling increased by 5.4
per cent and that of children transiting from primary to secondary school education expanded
by 7.5 per cent. However, estimates from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS)
show that close to one million children aged 6-13 years were out of school.
The pastoralists in arid and semi-arid areas lands (ASALs) had the highest levels of out-
of-school children (Figure 2). For example, in 2012, the West Pokot, Garissa and Samburu
counties had the highest shares of out-of-school children, a situation that has persisted. This can
be attributed to the pastoral livelihood of the communities, and the attendant limited education
infrastructure in the regions. Other explanations for the low enrolments include: retrogressive
cultural practices; other school-related expenses, such as uniforms; low education and literacy of
parents; early marriages (especially for girls); and long distances to schools. Enforcement of the
non-repetition policy, and the policy on girl students’ re-admission after giving birth, the waiver
of examination fees, and the 100 per cent transition policy from primary to secondary education,
are some of the initiatives designed to address the internal inefficiencies.
The country is set to benefit from expansion and revitalization of technical training and
skills development sector. TVET enrolment increased by 74 per cent during the review period.
Technical training expansion is likely to be sustained with the increase in number of new Technical
Vocational Colleges (TVCs), their equipping, recruitment of trainers to close the human resource
gap, and continued rebranding of TVET. The government also increased budget allocation to the
sector during the review period to facilitate recruitment of additional trainers, and implementation
of Curriculum Based Education and Training (CBET). Capitation grants for TVET trainees was set at
Ksh 30,000 for technical training institutes and 15,000 for learners in youth polytechnics. Further,
the government’s policy to enhance the provision of middle level skills development has directed
more secondary school graduates to TVET. Operationalization of the Technical Vocational
Education and Training Authority (TVETA), Curriculum Development Assessment Centre (CDACC),
and Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA), have also positively impacted on TVET
expansion. It would, however, be important to continue strengthening linkages between TVET
and industry for relevance of skills required for the attainment of the Kenya Vision 2030 and the
“Big Four” agenda.
University education enrolment increased by 17 per cent between 2014 and 2017. This
positive change can be attributed to the increase in the number of both public and private

Figure 2: Proportion of children out of school across counties in 2012 and 2014 (%)
40.0
35.0

30.0
25.0
Percentage

20.0
15.0

10.0
5.0

0.0
Kakamega
Kirinyaga
Murang’a
Nyandarua
Nyeri
Meru
Machakos
Taita Taveta
Kitui
Kericho
Trans Nzoia
Lamu
TharakaNithi
Embu
Nandi
Bungoma
Bomet
Makueni

Nakuru
Nyamira
Kisumu
Kisii
Uasin Gishu
Vihiga
Siaya

Kiambu
Homa Bay
Busia
Kajiado
Narok
Laikipia
Migori
Mombasa
Isiolo
Nairobi
Kwale

Baringo
West Pokot
Mandera
Turkana
Garissa
Marsabit
Samburu
Wajir
Tana River
Elgeyo Marakwet

Kilifi

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)


2012 2014

4 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


universities. Other factors include: placing of government-sponsored students to private
universities, implementation of Differentiated Unit Cost, and continued award of university loans
through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).

Pupil-Teacher Ratio
The pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) in pre-primary and secondary schools were below the
national norm of 1:35, while the primary level PTR was above the national norm of 1:40.
The pre-primary, primary and secondary school level PTRs were 28:1, 44:1 and 29:1, respectively
in 2017. The PTR level in Kenya was higher than for other developing countries in the Eastern and
Southern Africa Region, including Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho and Namibia who have smaller
pupil-teacher ratios, as low as 10 per cent or below (Figure 3).
It is, however, important to address the inequalities in the distribution of teachers across
schools and counties to support the optimal utilization of existing human resources. Among
the factors limiting Kenya’s equal distribution of teachers – especially at the primary school level,
include: insecurity in some counties, such as those of northern Kenya, causing an outflow of
teachers; teachers’ preferred postings to urban and high potential areas; and unwillingness of
teachers to be separated from their families due to social factors. In general, counties in arid
and semi-arid areas have comparatively fewer teachers for the equivalent school sizes in high
potential areas.

Education completion and transition rates


Among the selected comparator countries, Botswana joins Kenya with the highest levels
of primary and secondary completion rates. However, Botswana females have higher primary
completion rate than males, in contrast to Kenya’s near parity (Figure 4). Moreover, Kenya’s
primary to secondary transition rate rose from 76.1 per cent to 81.6 per cent, boosting secondary
enrolment by 19 per cent to 2017 (from 2.3 to 2.8 million students).

Education Spending Trends


Government spending on education doubled between 2013/14 and 2017/18. Education
sector expenditure expanded by 65.7 per cent from Ksh 251.2 billion in 2013 to Ksh 416 billion in
2017, as shown in Figure 5. Real education expenditure grew from Ksh 236 billion in 2013/14 to
Ksh 361 billion in 2017/18.
Between 2013/14 and 2017/18, education spending as a percentage of total government
outlays averaged 17 per cent, which was below the Incheon Declaration target of 20 per

Figure 3: Pupil-teacher ratio by level of education in select countries, 2013-2017


80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
a

di

N ue

ia

da

ia

n
M ar
aw
o
ol

an

pi

ny

th

ric

da
n

ib

al
sc
or

itr

an
g

ru

so

al

am

m
Ke

Af
sw

bi

Su
An

hi

a
om

Er
Bu

So
Le

m
ag
Et

h
t

R
Bo

h
a
C

ut
ad

ut
oz

So

So
M

Pre-primary Primary Secondary Tertiary

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics and Kenya Ministry of
Education (2018)

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 5


Figure 4: Primary and secondary completion rates by gender in select countries, 2017

100

80

60

40

20

0
la

os

ia

ho

ia
r
nd

aw
ca
an

ny

qu
go

op

ib
or

itr

t
ru

so

as

al

am
Ke
w

bi
An

hi
om

Er
Bu

M
ts

Le

am
ag
Et

N
Bo

ad

oz
M

M
Lower secondary (female) Lower secondary (male)

Primary (female) Primary (male)

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics and Kenya Ministry of
Education (2018)
cent. Kenya’s public education spending as a percentage of GDP oscillated marginally between
5.3 per cent in 2013/14 and 5.2 per cent in 2017/18, and between 18 per cent and 21 per cent as
a percentage of total government outlays (Figure 6). That spending only surpassed the Incheon
Declaration target in 2017/18, which implies education financing was sustainable during the
review period. Education spending level of below the Incheon target of 20 per cent in some
years was because of the country’s overall increased level of infrastructural expansion, especially
spending on roads and expansion of energy sector, and county governments spending.
Kenya’s 2016/17 budgetary resources for the education sector are comparable to other countries
in the region, maintaining a 21 per cent share of the budget. Kenya’s budget estimated at 22 per
cent was slightly above the sub-Saharan African target of 20 per cent, but lags other countries,
such as South Africa, Swaziland and Namibia) (Figure 7). Kenya spends approximately US$ 141
per pupil, which is much higher than neighbouring countries, for example Ethiopia, Madagascar
and Burundi.

Composition of Education Spending


Institutional classification of education spending
The Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) dominates aggregate sector spending, although with
a diminishing share. This share fell from 58.6 per cent to 51.3 per cent between 2013/14 and
2017/18. The next largest sub-sectors were basic education and university education, which
Figure 5: Nominal and real education sector spending, 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh billions base year is 2010)
600

500

400
Ksh billions

300

200

100

-
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Norminal expenditure Real expenditure

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

6 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 6: Education sector spending and international targets, 2013/14-2017/18
25

20
Percentage

15

10

0
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

% of GDP % of budget

Education for All spending target Incheon Declaration spending target

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 7: Selected countries’ education spending over total spending (%), 2016/17
25 35.0

30.0
20
25.0

Percentage
15
20.0

15.0
10

10.0
5
5.0

0 0.0
r

i
da

om a
os

Le e

Bo tho

Sw ibia

nd

So la

ia
nd

aw
ia

ea

m a

N a

a
ca

bi

da

ni

bw

go

al
nd

qu

ny

an

ric
op

or
an

ila
ru

za
itr
as

so
al

am

m
Su

ba
Ke

Af

An
ga

bi

az
hi

Za
Er
Bu

w
M

n
ag

ts
am
Et

Ta
U

h
h

C
ad

ut
ut

Zi
oz

So
So
M

Primary per student (left axis) ‘000 % of expenditure (right axis)

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics and Kenya Ministry of
Education (2018)
Note: Latest available spending is per student Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

accounted for 22.7 per cent and 20.4 per cent, respectively, during 2017/18 (Figure 8a and 8b).
TSC spending constitutes teachers’ emoluments for public primary, secondary, special needs
and public middle level training colleges. Basic education spending covers capitation grants for
primary and secondary schools; quality assurance and other administrative costs,
Under the education functional classification budget, general administration and primary
education shares averaged 23.4 per cent and 20.0 per cent, respectively, during the review
period (Figure 9a). University education share was consistently high, averaging 38 per cent
over the review period. However, secondary education’s share reflected a sharp increase in 2018,
attributable to the Free Day Secondary Education’s (FDSE) increased spending on infrastructure
expansion. The increase in technical and university education spending reflects the growing need
for tertiary education spending following implementation of FPE since 2003 and free secondary
education since 2008. Further, as the country experiences population growth, there is increased
demand for skills development.
Primary education was the biggest recipient of government funding. Although its share
declined from 47.3 per cent to 36.9 per cent between 2013/14 and 2017/18, it remains the main
funding priority, followed by secondary and university education with respective shares of 30.9
per cent and 22.7 per cent in 2017/18. Pre-primary allocation increased from a 0.7 per cent share

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 7


Figure 8a: Education sector spending by institution, 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh million)
500,000

400,000 100,489.0
100,825.0

25,034.0
22,083.0
70,827.8
Ksh millions

300,000
53,373.8
53,363.2 12,492.2
11,187.0
10,460.4
200,000 218,379 226,686

184,800 190,799
170,277

100,000

84,997.96 90,073.02
56,591.27 58,382.72 64,998.83
-

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18


Ministry of Education Teachers Service Commission Technical Training Universities

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 8b: Education sector spending by institution, 2013/14-2017/18 (% of sector budget)

2017/18 20.4 51.3 5.7 22.7

2016/17 19.9 51.2 5.2 23.7

2015/16 19.2 56.3 3.7 20.9

2014/15 19.0 60.1 3.6 17.3

2013/14 19.5 58.6 3.6 18.4

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

Basic Education Teachers Service Commission Technical Training Universities

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

in 2013/14 to 1.1 per cent share. Pre-primary education is a constitutionally devolved function,
meaning that it has also benefitted from growing county government resources since 2013/14.
Spending on secondary, technical and university education increased significantly during
the review period. This is because of the FDSE programme which aims to increase access to
secondary education and transition from primary to secondary and allocation for teacher salaries.
Spending on technical education also increased owing to reforms aimed at revitalizing technical
training while addressing gaps in the supply and demand of skills in the labour market.
Regarding child sensitive programmes, secondary education took the largest share of
spending by programme (Figure 10a and 10b). This is expected given the annual capitation
of Ksh 22,400 per student in public secondary schools and the cost of secondary school teachers
who are paid relatively higher wages compared to primary school teachers.

Economic classification of education spending


Under-funding of the development budget has undermined growth in school
infrastructure. The aggregate recurrent expenditure during the period 2013/14 and
2017/18 was Ksh 1.5 trillion, while development expenditure was Ksh 625 billion. Recurrent
expenditure covers personnel emoluments, capitation grants for FPE and FDSE. Overall,

8 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 9a: Education sector spending by levels (or services), 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh million)
500,000

450,000 4,869.3
4,682.0 11,942.0
11,561.0 25,034.0
400,000 22,083.0

350,000 4,501.9 100,489.0


10,574.012,492.2 100,825.0
4,328.8
Ksh millions

300,000 2,022.2 9,172.0 11,187.0


9,656.0 10,460.4 70,827.8
250,000 53,373.8
53,363.2 106,972.0 136,593.0
200,000 95,939.0
77,690.7 89,791.0
150,000

100,000 180,161.9
144,782.9 163,354.7
137,499.4 139,890.9
50,000

-
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Primary Secondary University Technical General Administration Pre-primary

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 9b: Education sector spending by levels (or services), 2013/14-2017/18 (%)

2017/18 36.9 30.9 22.7 5.7 2.7 1.1

2016/17 42.3 25.1 23.7 5.2 2.7 1.1

2015/16 42.7 28.3 20.9 3.7 3.1 1.3

2014/15 45.5 29.2 17.3 3.6 3.0 1.4

2013/14 47.3 26.7 18.4 3.6 3.3 0.7

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

Primary Secondary University

Technical General Administration Pre-primary

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

about 92.6 per cent of the education budget is spent on recurrent costs, leaving less than
7.4 per cent for development spending.

Budget Credibility
During the review period, the education sector was characterized by large deviations
between approved budgets and actual spending which reflect on budget credibility. On
average, education expenditure credibility or outturn, captured through education spending
as a percentage of aggregate sector allocations, was low except for TSC (Figure 12). Technical
education experienced the lowest level of budget credibility due to the reorganization of
structures resulting from the devolution of youth polytechnic functions to county governments,
and low disbursements of development budgets. The low spending performance of the
university level can be attributed to delays in releases from the National Treasury. The TSC’s high
budget out-turn can be attributed to the spending resources on teacher’s salaries. Overall, the
low budget outturn undermines the credibility of the planning and budgeting process, including
linkages with resource mobilization and sector performance.
The credibility of education spending by economic classification shows deviations on
wages and salaries while there are significant deviations on goods and services and capital

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 9


Figure 10a: Education sector spending by programme, 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh million)
5
85
842
2017/18 946
4,850
18,110
69,334
5
98
2,605
2016/17 788
4663
19,212
60,776
491
674
1,636 Management Information System Strengthening
2015/16 657
4,484 Alternative provision of basic education (Adult
17,800
39,537 Literacy, NFE, Special)
983 School Feeding Program
414
975 Mobile School Program
2014/15 547
4,311
14,870 School Readiness Program
33,954
1,965
Free Primary Education
828 Free Secondary Education
1,946
2013/14 456
1,955
14,197
30,445
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000
Ksh millions

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)


Figure 10b: Education sector spending by programme, 2013/14-2017/18 (%)
1.8 1.0 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.1
100.0 3.8 0.7 2.5 3.0 0.9 1.0
1.7 1.0 2.5 0.9 5.1
3.8 1.6 1.0 5.3
90.0 0.9 7.7 6.9
3.8
19.2
80.0 21.8
27.4 26.5 27.3
70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0
73.6
68.9
30.0 58.8 60.6 60.6

20.0

10.0

0.0
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

School Readiness Programme (ECDE) Free Primary Education Alternative provision of basic Education
Mobile School Program School Feeding Program (Adult Literacy, NFE, special)
Free Secondary Education EMIS Strengthening

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 11a: Education sector spending by economic classification, 2013/2014-2017/18 (Ksh million)
500,000

450,000
25,206.0 32,231.0
400,000

350,000
Ksh millions

14,845.9 27,001.5
300,000 179,756.0 178,578.0
18,361.1
250,000 104,943.2 188,823.2
88,006.1
200,000

150,000
184,324.8 187,954.4 193,293.1 221,323.0 231,475.0
100,000

50,000
-
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Salaries and wages Goods and services Development

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

10 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 11b: Education sector spending by economic classification, 2013/2014-2017/18 (% of sector budget)
100.0 5%
6% 8% 6% 7%
90.0

80.0 30%
34%
35% 42%
70.0 40%
Percentage

60.0

50.0

40.0 63%
61%
57%
30.0
52% 52%
20.0

10.0

0.0
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Wages and salaries Goods and services Development

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)


investment. Apart from wages and salaries, spending under other economic classifications
underperformed, as seen in Figure 13. The 6 per cent overspending on wages and salaries in
2015/16, can partly be attributed to implementation of the provisions of the teachers’ Collective
Bargaining Agreement. Higher under-spending of the investment budget is observed during
2013/14 and 2017/18 (Figure 13). Goods and services were also under-purchased, amounting to
an average 14 per cent rate over the 2013/14-2017/18 period.

Decentralization and Education Spending


In Kenya substantial resources are decentralized directly to the sub national level (for
education administration and quality assurance) and learning institutions for direct
provision of teaching and learning materials, and there is more autonomy for spending
at the school level. This has improved efficiency in education resource management, but more
is required to improve public financial management capacity at school level. Transfers – grants
and subsidies – account for 30 per cent of spending, and have increased because of the FPE
and FDSE programmes. For primary schools, the grants cover teaching and learning materials,
and operations and maintenance. The capitation grants for public secondary schools cover
instructional materials, repairs and maintenance, local transport and travel, administration costs,
activity fees, personnel emoluments for non-teaching staff, and basic medical costs.
County governments’ allocation to education increased six-fold between 2013/4 and
2017/18 (Figure 14). This can be associated with devolution of pre-primary education, village
polytechnics, home craft centers and childcare facilities. Some of the devolved funds are also
spent on the development of primary schools, secondary schools and special education despite
being national government function.

Equity of Education Spending


There are disparities across the counties on the per pupil spending. A comparison of the
per pupil spending by region shows that the counties with the least per capita spending are
Bungoma, West Pokot, Nyandarua, Kwale and Busia counties (Figure 15). Mombasa County had
the highest education spending per capita followed closely by Nairobi County. The high per
capita spending in Garissa, Mandera and Wajir depicts increasing resource allocation in these
counties.
Some Counties with the greatest challenges in getting children to enrol and stay in primary
school recorded high per pupil spending As Figure 16 shows, per capita spending tends to be
low in the north, coast and arid areas. Counties in these areas tend to have lower enrolment levels
but some have relatively high numbers of schooling years – such as West Pokot and Turkana –
placing them on the frontier of translating per capita spending into better education outcomes
measured in terms of average years of schooling. The counties with low years of schooling are

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 11


Figure12: Budget credibility in select institutions, 2013/14-2017/18
5

0 0% 0% 0%

-5 -1% -2%
-4% -4%
-5%
-10 -7% -7%
-8%
-15 -13% -12%
-17%
Percentage

-20 -17% -17%


-20%
-25 -22%
-26%
-30

-35

-40 -39%
-45
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Ministry of Education Teacher Service Commission Technical Training Universities

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 13: Budget credibility by economic classification, 2013/14-2017/18 (deviation from amount approved as a %)
6%

1%
0%
-1%
-2%
-4%

-8% -8%
-9% -10%

-18%
-21%
-24%

-31% -31%

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Wages and salaries Goods and services Development

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Mandera, Garissa, and Wajir; but they rank among the highest in per capita spending. Kiambu,
Nyeri and Uasin Gishu are the most efficient since their per capita spending is low and have high
years of schooling. Average years of schooling was 8.4 years compared to national target of 12
years; that is, if the entire population aged 15-64 years were to have a minimum of secondary
education.
It is expected that counties with high child poverty allocate higher per capita spending
on education. However, some counties with high child poverty rate including Turkana, West
Pokot, Tana River and Samburu counties (Figure 17) did not necessary have the highest per
capita spending. However, Wajir, Mandera and Garissa Counties were among the counties that
recorded high per capita spending at primary education level, meaning their resource allocation
was pro-poor. But the figure also shows that majority of counties have low allocations despite
relatively high poverty levels. The outcomes suggest the need for targeted education pending
especially for counties with higher levels of child poverty and ensure higher spending in some of
the counties contribute to reduction on incidence of child poverty.

Financing the Education Sector


The education sector relies on a wide range of financing sources. These include the public
sector (national and county governments), private sector, development partners, households and

12 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 14: National and sub-national spending trends on education sector, 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh millions)
500,000

450,000 37,996.5
400,000
350,000 30,949.8
Ksh millions

27,781.6
300,000 25,814.4
6,865.3
250,000

200,000 426,285.0
339,117.8
150,000 307,743.5
290,691.9
264,901.0
100,000

50,000

0
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Central level Sub-national level


Source: Ministry of Education (2018)
Figure 15: Education spending by county (per capita and as a % of sub-national budget for 2016/17)
50,000 14.0

12.0
40,000
10.0

Percentage
30,000 8.0
Ksh

6.0
20,000

4.0
10,000
2.0

- 0.0
Bungoma
West Pokot
Nyandarua
Kwale
Busia
Kericho
Embu
Marakwet
Homa Bay
Isiolo
Vihiga
Siaya
Migori
Bomet
Narok
Nakuru
Trans Nzoia
Kiambu
Laikipia
Tharaka Nithi
Baringo
Kitui
Kirinyaga
Makueni
Machakos
Kisumu
Nandi
Nyamira
Taita Taveta
Turkana
Lamu
Samburu
Meru
Kajiado
Murang’a
Kisii
Tana River
Uasin Gishu
Kakamega
Marsabit
Nyeri
Kilifi
Wajir
Garissa
Mandera
Nairobi
Mombasa
National
Per capita value (left axis) % of sub-national budget (2014/15) (right axis)

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

individuals, civil society, faith-based organizations and non-governmental organizations. Public


education financing was estimated at 57.6 per cent followed by parents at 33.7 per cent (Figure
18, Figure 19 and Table 3). However, the country has no institutionalized system that captures all
sources of education financing and uses. Public financing covers FPE and FDSE capitation grants,
TVET and university education, personnel emoluments at all public education institution, and
operations and maintenance (O&M) costs.
Household financing as percentage of total education financing increased during the
review period. This includes user fees which covers boarding costs and other direct, non-tuition
costs. Between 2013/14 and 2017/18, household spending was 37 per cent of total education
expenditure (Figure 18). These resources are raised through user fees, mainly directed to private
education provision, financing of pre-primary, boarding costs at secondary education level
and non-salary inputs at various levels. Households also finance all other direct costs, such as
uniforms, transportation, accommodation and meals, among other costs.
Despite increased public financing to education during the review period, the county
governments are yet to provide adequate funding for all children aged 4-5 years in
preprimary education. According to the Constitution of Kenya (2010) and Basic Education
Act (2013) basic education (which includes pre-primary education, primary and secondary
education) is free, compulsory and a right to every child. However, only primary and secondary
education are catered for under the free primary and free day secondary education programmes,

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 13


Figure 16: Pupil Per capita education spending and average years of schooling by county, 2016/17
10
Kiambu Kirinyaga
Average years of schooling (years)

Nakuru Nyeri
Uasin Gishu Murang’a Mombasa
9 Kisumu
Nyamira
Machakos Embu Kajiado Kisii Taita Taveta
Nyandarua
Laikipia
Migori Kericho Vihiga Trans Nzoia
8 Baringo Marakwet
Siaya Meru Kakamega Kenya Homa Bay
Bomet Busia Makueni
Isiolo Nandi Tharaka Nithi
Bungoma Kitui Lamu
7
Narok
West Pokot Samburu Kilifi
Kwale Turkana Marsabit
Tana River
6 Garissa
Mandera Wajir

5
150.0 5,150.0 10,150.0 15,150.0 20,150.0 25,150.0 30,150.0 35,150.0 40,150.0 45,150.0 50,150.0

Per pupil spending

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Figure 17: Per capita spending on education sector and child poverty rates by county, 2015/16
90
Turkana
West Pokot
80 Tana River Wajir
Samburu
Mandera
70 Migori
Kwale
Busia Garissa
Child poverty rate

Narok Kitui Marsabit


60 Bungoma Bomet
Homa Bay Kisii
Lamu Nandi Tharaka Nithi
Baringo
50 Nyamira
Kakamega Siaya Isiolo Laikipia
Embu National
40
Vihiga Trans Nzoia Uasin Gishu
Kajiado
Kericho Kilifi
Marakwet Meru
Nakuru
Nyandarua Kisumu Murang’a
30 Kirinyaga
Makueni
Machakos
20
Taita Taveta
Nyeri Kiambu
10 Mombasa
Nairobi
0
- 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000
Per pupil spending

respectively. It is therefore important for the national government to provide clear policy
guidelines on financing of preprimary education as part of basic education; and given its role in
laying foundation for learning in all the other education levels. The county governments will need
to ring fence capitation grants for pre-primary education learners in order to reduce household
spending at this level.
Private sector financing remains low despite the potential in public private partnerships in
education financing especially in science, technology, innovation and skills development.
The private corporate institutions financed 0.02 per cent of education resources, by providing
and operating learning institutions at various levels of education, and/or through direct funding
of education inputs. This level is relatively low when compared with household direct financing
of education through fees payment (37 per cent). NGOs and development partners’ external
grants and loans financed shares of 1 per cent and 0.35 per cent, respectively. Overall, NGOs,
FBOs, individuals, and corporate organizations support education through improvement of
school infrastructure and support to needy students (through bursaries and scholarships), but
their contribution remained below 1 per cent over time. It will be important for the sector to
design and implement clear guidelines for public private sector partnerships in education for
structured contribution of the corporate sector in education.

14 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019


Figure 18: Main sources of financing the education sector, 2016/17-2017/18 (average as a % of total spending)
0.02%
0.3%
Central Government 1%
3%

Constituency Development Fund 37%

County Governments

Household (parents)

NGOs and Religious bodies

Private Sector and Companies

4%
External Loans and Grants
1% 54%

Internally Generated Funds

Figure 19: Main sources of financing the education sector, 2013/14-2017/18 (Ksh Billion)
800
19.4
700
18.6
600 17.9 249.1
17.2
500 245.9
Ksh billions

16.6
214.0 230.4 31.4
400
196.4 24.6
300 20.0 21.7
1.2
339.1 426.3
200
290.7 307.7
100 264.9

-
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Central Government Constituency Development Fund County Governments

Household (parents) NGOs and Religious Bodies Private Sector and Companies

External Loans and Grants Internally Generated Funds

Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

Table 3: Main sources of education sector financing, 2013/14-2017/18 (%)

  2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18


Central Government 54.1 52.6 52.2 52.9 57.6
Constituency Development Fund 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9
County Governments 0.3 3.6 3.7 3.8 4.2
Household (Parents) 40.1 38.7 39.1 38.3 33.7
NGOs and Religious bodies 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6
Private sector and Companies 0.02 0.02
0.02 0.02 0.02
External Loans and grants 0.3 0.3
0.3 0.5 0.4
Internally Generated Funds 3.1 3.0
3.4 2.9 2.6
Total Education Financing (Billion Ksh.) 489.8 553.0 589.3 641.6 740.1
Source: Ministry of Education (2018)

KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019 15


Implementation Strategy of Key Issues
The following strategies are proposed to address the policy issues emerging from the foregoing analysis.

Issue Recommendation Action Responsibility


Out of school Implement targeted Conduct a survey to establish the exact Ministry of Education,
children interventions to enroll out of number and profile of children out of National Treasury
school children and increase school and youth not in education, and Planning, County
retention across all levels of employment and training (NEET), their Governments,
education locality and any unique conditions they Development Partners
are facing.
Design targeted interventions to bring
them to school

Negative Continue pursuing progressive Construction and equipping of TVET Ministry of Education,
perception rebranding and repositioning institutions, advocacy and rebranding of National Treasury
and poor TVET TVET and Planning, County
uptake of Governments,
Enhance TVET trainee financing, and
TVET Development Partners
capacity building of trainers including
full roll out of CBET
Inequitable Implement targeted Conduct a survey to establish the extent Ministry of Education,
access to interventions to address of disparities National Treasury
education and regional gender and poverty- and Planning, County
Design targeted interventions to address
training related disparities at all levels of Governments,
the various disparities
education and training Development Partners
Develop and implement the
Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) Develop and implement DUC in all
to guide financing tertiary education institutions.
Budget Capacity building in resource Mobilize resources for capacity building Ministry of Education,
credibility mobilization, budget absorption in budgeting and planning at various National Treasury and
and investment planning stakeholder levels Planning
Conduct Public Expenditure Tracking and
Service Delivery (PETs)
Low access Expand investment in tertiary Develop a framework for industry – Ministry of Education,
to tertiary education and strengthen training linkages and productivity Industry
education linkage between training and improvement among youth with no
leading to industry formal schooling
low labour
Improve management and
productivity
governance for service
providers in tertiary training
institutions and MDAs

Acknowledgements providing the team with technical support throughout the process of
The preparation of this Education Budget Brief was funded and supported writing the brief. The KIPPRA research team comprised Boaz Munga, Victor
Mose, James Ochieng and Phares Mugo.
by UNICEF (KCO) and UNICEF (ESARO) under the Child Responsive
Planning and Budgeting project. The Brief was prepared by Eldah Onsomu For more information, contact
of KIPPRA, with support from Michael Kahiti and Evelyne Anupi (Ministry Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis
of Education). The entire process of preparing the brief was guided by the Bishops Road, Bishops Garden Towers
KIPPRA Executive Director, Dr Rose Ngugi. P.O. Box 56445-00200, Nairobi
We are most grateful to the UNICEF team of Ousmane Niang and Godfrey Tel: 2719933/4 ; Cell: 0736712724, 0724256078
Email:admin@kippra.or.ke
Ndeng’e (UNICEF KCO) and Matthew Cummins (UNICEF ESARO) for
Website: http://www.kippra.org
Twitter: @kipprakenya

The KENYA INSTITUTE for PUBLIC


POLICY RESEARCH and ANALYSIS

16 KIPPRA Policy Brief No. 64/2018-2019

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