By Vostine Ratemo
In the budget proposals that form part of the 2023 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) to be tabled in the National Assembly tomorrow, March 14, the education sector is set to receive a whooping Kshs 597 billion.
The proposal was prepared by the Education Committee of the National Assembly after a proposal was presented to them by the three departments of Education ministry and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)
TSC will also receive the largest allocation of Sh322, 733 billion with 3.8 million dedicated to the hiring process of 20,000 new teacher in JSS institutions,11.1 billion will be used for payment of salaries of the 20, 000 interns and 10, 000 teachers hired on both permanent and pensionable terms in February.
The ministry’s Sh 597 billion proposed budget has an increase of Sh 53 billion from last year’s budget as part of the extra cash is intended to fund Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), employ more teachers, improve infrastructures in schools and fund higher education.
Nonetheless, there will be a huge deficits across the 13 programmes in the education sector that is estimated to require Sh200 billion.
The higher institutions which have been in a limbo with financial struggles will likely prevail again as allocation to the department have a shortfall of more than Sh51.7 billion.
On the other hand, the State Department for the Technical Vocational Education and Training will receive Sh 1 billion for construction of technical training institutes in the remaining 52 constituencies.
