President William Ruto instructed the Ministry of Education to review the capitation rates for all levels of basic education, saying the current amounts no longer meet teaching and learning needs.

Ruto noted that the last review took place in 2015 and that inflation and other economic pressures have eroded the purchasing power of the existing allocations.

Current statutory allocations stand at Sh22,244 per senior secondary learner, Sh14,000 per junior secondary learner and Sh2,340 per primary learner.

The President called for an upward revision of each of these figures, emphasizing the need to ensure schools have adequate resources to teach children.

He also highlighted that the government has been releasing capitation funds before each term, totaling Sh86.1 billion for the year, and pledged to maintain that commitment.

School principals, through the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA), have separately proposed fee increases of up to Sh43,087 per student to cover rising operational costs.

KESSHA’s proposal, presented at its June conference in Mombasa, suggests raising fees for extra‑county and county boarding schools from Sh40,535 to Sh83,622, and for national schools from Sh53,554 to Sh87,781.

Consumer groups and the National Parents Association have opposed the fee hike, urging the government to deliver the full promised Sh22,244 per‑student capitation on time instead.