National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has placed the blame for persistent shortfalls in school capitation funding squarely on Parliament, accusing lawmakers of approving budgets that do not reflect the actual cost of educating learners in public schools.

Speaking during a Thanksgiving event in Suba South on Friday, Mbadi dismissed claims that the government had failed to release the required funds, saying the problem stems from underfunded budgets passed by legislators.

“We disbursed the whole amount allocated in the budget, but still, it is not enough,” he said.

He explained that the government has a policy of allocating Sh22,000 annually for every student in a day secondary school, Sh15,000 for junior secondary learners, and Sh1,400 for those in primary school.

However, he noted that the Treasury has consistently fallen short of meeting the Sh22,000 capitation mark.

“If you divide the current budget by the number of students in secondary schools, you will only get about Sh17,000 per student. That has been the reality even during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure,” he said.

Mbadi took issue with MPs who question the Treasury’s inability to disburse the full amount, saying they are the same lawmakers who voted to reduce the proposed capitation budget.

“In fact, the latest budget, the capitation we had proposed, Parliament reduced it further. So once a budget has been allocated, where do I get the money to pay the full Sh22,000?” he posed.

He insisted that the Treasury has been releasing the funds in full as per the approved allocations. “Whatever is there will be paid in full. First term and second term have been paid in full. We are waiting to pay third term, but that money is not enough,” he said.

The CS also sought to clarify what he described as misleading claims about the origins of free education in Kenya. He stated that while former President Mwai Kibaki introduced free primary education, it was Uhuru Kenyatta who initiated free secondary education.

“People say Kibaki was able to have our children learn for free. It’s not true. He made sure our children went to school for free in primary school. For secondary school, it is President Uhuru Kenyatta who started this initiative,” Mbadi said.

He added that even under Kenyatta’s administration, the full capitation of Sh22,000 per student was never fully achieved.

Mbadi acknowledged the concerns raised by school heads and principals regarding delayed or incomplete funding but maintained that the Treasury has always disbursed the amounts allocated in the budget.

“That is why you hear principals saying they have not received the full capitation. But the government has always disbursed what is allocated in the budget,” he said.

To address the funding gap, the CS proposed that part of the bursary funds from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) be redirected to support full capitation.

He suggested that the 40 percent of NG-CDF allocated to bursaries—about Sh21 billion—could be pooled and shared equally among all students.

“If we are truly serious and want full capitation, we could agree that out of the KSh58 billion NG-CDF, the 40 percent for bursaries can be used to top up capitation,” he said. “Then no student would need to go to their MP for a bursary because the government shall have paid full fees.”

Mbadi further proposed that bursary funds from all other sources, including NG-CDF, the Government Affirmative Action Fund (GAAF), and county governments, be combined and distributed equally.

“We mop it up and put it in one basket to give every child in Kenya equal support. If you have a better suggestion, bring it. That is mine as the Treasury and Economic Planning Secretary,” he said.

He acknowledged the challenge of limited revenue but assured that the government is working on solutions to close the gap. In the meantime, he urged Parliament and other stakeholders to collaborate with the Treasury instead of engaging in blame games.

“We are looking at revenue collection, and our priority is to make sure that we take the allocation to where it should be,” Mbadi said. “But pretending that we are currently financing every student at Sh22,000 is misleading. We have a shortfall, and that is a fact.”