The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has continued to openly criticize the government over suggestions to reduce or eliminate funding for free basic education, insisting that education is a right enshrined in the Constitution—not a privilege granted by the state.
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“Free basic education is not something we’re pleading for; it is something we are entitled to. It must continue,” Nyoro said on Friday while addressing an event at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
His remarks were in response to Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s recent admission before Parliament that the government can no longer fully support free education due to budgetary limitations.
Mbadi told the National Assembly’s Education Committee that capitation for secondary school students has been reduced from Sh22,244 to between Sh16,600 and Sh16,900 per learner, citing limited fiscal space and growing national debt.
He went on to describe the idea of fully free education as unrealistic under the current circumstances: “The budget cannot support the Sh22,000… we are living a lie,” Mbadi said.
Nyoro, a former chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, condemned Mbadi’s stance, calling it unacceptable and a betrayal of Kenyan learners.
“I was deeply disappointed to see senior Treasury officials claiming that free basic education is no longer sustainable. We cannot and will not entertain such proposals,” he said.
He stressed that education plays a foundational role in economic progress, asserting that a nation’s prosperity is tied directly to the skills and knowledge of its people.
“You cannot grow the economy without investing in people. Education enhances the quality of the workforce. Universal access to quality education is not optional—it’s essential,” Nyoro emphasized.
He also urged government agencies to cut down on non-essential expenditures, particularly unnecessary office renovations, and instead redirect those funds to support the education sector.
“Scrap those office makeovers and put that money where it matters—into schools. Every Kenyan household is linked to a student. Let’s support them,” he concluded.
