According to a BBC news report, the Kenyan government may be having trouble funding the free secondary education which was supposed to start from January this year. In the program promised by the president, the government would pay tuition fees while parents would pay for boarding fees and uniforms. However, the government has since encountered some other spending priorities. The post-election crisis was solved by appointing a “Grand Coalition” government, in which large numbers of parliamentarians were appointed to cabinet positions, at an estimated additional cost of $300 million.
It is now reported that in the first 7 months of the free secondary education program, the government has provided only one quarter of the funds promised. As a result schools are facing a significant operational shortfall, and some have incurred significant debts. Although the government has directed school not to charge fees, some schools consider that they have no choice but to start charging. Enrolments may fall off significantly when fees rise to a level which parents are unable to pay.
The government claims that the free secondary education program has been a success, and that enrolments in secondary school have increased by 300,000 since January. However, it seems that the program is at risk of becoming one of the many victims of the government’s need to slash budget costs. The ministries of medical services, roads, education and finance have already have their budgets reduced.