DP Kindiki: Education sector allocated highest budget ever

Prof. Kindiki assured parents, teachers, learners and stakeholders in the sector that the government will intensify funding to ensure accessibility to relevant and affordable quality education across all levels of study. 

Speaking on Thursday afternoon when he presided over the Murang’a Technical Training Institute Graduation ceremony in Maragua, Murang’a County, the DP said the government takes education seriously because it is key in economic development and transformation. 

“For a long time, we have been allocating Sh650 billion but this year we are releasing a record Sh702 billion. If there is anyone who doubts where the government places education, look at this budget for education. It is the biggest share allocated to a single ministry,” he noted.

This year’s allocation is close to 30 percent of the national resources, he added.  

On top, the administration has built 23, 000 classrooms to boost infrastructure in junior and senior schools. Also 1, 600 new laboratories for schools intended to offer STEM subjects.  

Additionally, reforms have been rolled out to overhaul the learning system to respond to the needs of the 21st century and prepare learners for modern challenges. 

“We have stabilized the new curriculum. It is now Curriculum Based Education which is focused on a holistic approach to learning. We are improving infrastructure for schools, colleges and universities,” he said.

Prof. Kindiki also said Kenya Kwanza government is the first one to invest heavily in recruitment of teachers to address existing shortage with 76, 000 employed in three years and 24, 000 to be recruited by this December. 

“We mean business when we talk about transforming our education system,” he declared. 

The government has also revived the Technical and Vocational Education Training after many years of neglect with the intention of increasing enrolment and enhancing its contribution in skills development. 

We realized that there are more students in universities than TVETs while education policy makers tell us that we should have more in TVETs and tertiary institutions than those in the university 

“We undertook policy and administrative changes to ensure we have more enrollment in TVETs. Three years later, we have raised the number to 700, 000 from 297,000 when the government came in place. We want to reach 1 million by the end of this year and 2 million end of next year,” he stated.

Through TVETs, he noted, the government is offering friendlier teaching programmes through modules as well as Recognition of Prior Learning mechanisms.   

“The Modularization of TVET curriculum is a game-changer as it enables many people to acquire skills through studying in modules until they complete their courses,” he said. 

The government has also approved recruitment of additional 5,800 tutors for the vocational and training institutes.

“We mean business and we are focused. We are committed to make TVET what it should be,” he assured. 

The university education is being strengthened through new funding models geared at sustaining higher education. 

All these, the DP declared, is because the government values the youth who are the biggest beneficiaries of the learning infrastructure.

“We value the young people. They are the treasure of our nation. They have the energy, the skills and the future of Kenya is dependent on them. We are spending every effort to create job opportunities for them,” he said.