President William Ruto has said Kenya cannot sustain fully free education at the moment, citing limited financial capacity despite education taking the largest share of the national budget.
Speaking in Nakuru County on Friday during the launch of phase two of the NYOTA business start-up capital programme, President Ruto said the government does not have enough resources to shoulder the entire cost of education for all learners. He noted that while his administration remains committed to expanding access to education, economic realities make it impossible to fully fund education at all levels.
Ruto revealed that the education sector has been allocated about Sh702.7 billion in the 2025/2026 financial year, the highest share of government spending, but said the amount is still insufficient to cover every learner across the country. He warned that past attempts to make education fully state-funded, particularly at university level, nearly collapsed public universities due to huge unpaid costs.
“It cannot be free for now because we do not have enough money. We must be honest with ourselves. There was a time we made it free and our universities almost collapsed,” Ruto said.
The president emphasised that the government will continue supporting learners from poor and vulnerable backgrounds through bursaries, scholarships and targeted funding, while calling for a shared responsibility between the state, parents and other partners.
He added that a stronger economy is key to achieving fully free education in the future, saying Kenya must first stabilise and grow its revenue base to sustainably fund social amenities.
