KNUT Demands Reinstatement of Sh62 Billion Cut from Education Budget.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has expressed deep concern over the proposed Sh62 billion reduction in the education sector’s allocation for the 2025–2026 financial year. The union has urged Parliament to reconsider the cut, warning that vital programmes risk disruption if the funding is not reinstated.
Knut Secretary-General Collins Oyuu appealed to both Parliament and the Executive to intervene, stating that starving the Ministry of Education of essential funding would hinder development. He maintained that education underpins national progress and should be given top priority. Oyuu warned that education reforms would stall without adequate financial support.
Speaking during the burial of Knut Rift Valley Council Chairman John Sampoti Musere at Olereko village in Kilgoris Constituency, Narok County, Oyuu explained that funds meant for examinations and invigilation had been scrapped from the estimates—a move he described as unprecedented. He said the union remained hopeful that the funds would be reinstated.
Several Knut officials, including National Chairman Kamau Karinga, First National Vice Chairman Malel Langat, First National Woman Representative Mercy Ndung’u, National Trustee Boniface Tenai, and NEC members Richard Lentayaa, Alice Bor, and Sammy Bor, echoed Oyuu’s stance. They collectively urged lawmakers to restore the budget to safeguard the country’s educational future.
Treasury Blamed for Budget Oversight
Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok told the National Assembly’s Education Committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, that the budget reduction was made hastily by a National Treasury official aiming to meet a Cabinet deadline. He revealed that Sh12.5 billion for exams and invigilation had been excluded, alongside Sh1.8 billion and Sh21.85 billion meant for free primary and secondary school capitation, respectively.
Bitok warned that the cuts would negatively impact the administration of KPSEA, KJSEA, and KCSE exams. Additionally, the omission of Sh18.8 billion for junior school capitation and Sh4.2 billion for the school feeding programme, along with zero allocation for quality assurance, would severely affect learning outcomes.
Despite the cuts, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has been allocated Sh387.7 billion, which includes funding for the recruitment of 24,000 teachers in January next year. President William Ruto stated that the government had employed 76,000 teachers over the last two years—the highest in Kenya’s history. He also promised that trained P1 teachers, some of whom have waited up to two decades and are now aged around 45, would be prioritized in the upcoming employment cycle.
Crisis of Unemployment and Shortage
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba disclosed that 343,485 trained teachers remain jobless, with 124,061 of them being primary school teachers. Outgoing TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia noted a shortage of 98,261 teachers in public institutions, although the commission had registered 229,410 trained teachers over the past ten years.
Meanwhile, the government is pushing ahead with reforms based on the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms led by Prof Raphael Munavu.
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These reforms involve phasing out the 8-4-4 system and introducing the Competency Based Education (CBE), which replaces the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC). Additionally, Junior Secondary School (JSS) has been rebranded to Junior School (JS) under the phased changes.
However, ambiguity remains over whether JS teachers belong to the primary or secondary category. This uncertainty has fueled a dispute between Knut and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), who are contesting the membership of JS teachers.
KNUT Demands Reinstatement of Sh62 Billion Cut from Education Budget.
