The Day of the African Child, observed each year on June 16, is a powerful reminder of Africa’s collective responsibility to uphold and protect the rights of children. This year’s theme, “Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights: Progress since 2010,” comes at a time when Kenya finds itself at a crossroads. What was once one of the continent’s most celebrated public policy achievements, free primary education, is now under serious threat.
For over two decades, the promise of free basic education has been the cornerstone of Kenya’s efforts to expand access, reduce inequality and honor the constitutional right to education. Introduced in 2003 during Kenya’s third President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, the Free Primary Education (FPE) program unlocked learning opportunities for over 1.7 million children who had previously been excluded from school (UNESCO, 2015). It was hailed globally as a bold step toward educational equity and became a point of national pride.
But in 2025, the ground is shifting. The Ministry of Education has publicly acknowledged a deepening fiscal crisis within the education sector. Capitation grants have often been delayed or disbursed in insufficient amounts, leaving schools to depend heavily on contributions from parents to stay operational. According to The Standard newspaper, parents are now covering nearly 50% of school running costs and schools across the country are collectively owed KES 64 billion in unremitted capitation. This has raised fears that the FPE program may effectively end.
This situation represents not just a funding challenge, but a regression in the realization of children’s rights. Kenya’s 2010 Constitution guarantees every child the right to free and compulsory basic education. When the state fails to meet its obligations to fund public education adequately, the burden often shifts unfairly to families, many of whom are already struggling with the rising cost of living. Children from low-income households are most affected, as they are more likely to be sent home for non-payment of school fees or miss school altogether due to unaffordable hidden costs such as uniforms, meals and exam fees.
The 2025 theme rightly asks us to examine how planning and budgeting align with children’s rights. Kenya’s current crisis demonstrates the dangers of not placing children at the center of fiscal policy. A 2022 UNICEF report highlighted that despite education receiving a substantial share of Kenya’s national budget, it remains difficult to track how much of it directly benefits children, especially those in marginalized areas. There is no publicly accessible, centralized system for analyzing how school budgets are allocated and spent. In the absence of such transparency, inequalities persist, and accountability weakens.
Moreover, the decline in education funding also threatens progress made in other sectors tied closely to children’s wellbeing such as nutrition, mental health and child protection. It disrupts continuity in learning and diminishes the quality of education, eroding hard-won gains made over the past 15 years.
But all is not lost. There is still time to act, and Kenya has existing strengths it can build upon. Organizations like Zizi Afrique Foundation continue to drive change through community-focused learning and advocacy. Their work has helped highlight the challenges children face and influence more inclusive policies.
As we mark the Day of the African Child, Kenya must act. Education must be prioritized in budgets, protected from funding cuts and made transparent. Children are not tomorrow’s issue—they are today’s responsibility.
References
Gacheri, J. R. (2025, June 11). Funding gaps threaten to end two decades of free education in Kenya. The Standard. https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/end-of-kibaki-s-free-education–5071224
Republic of Kenya. (2010). The Constitution of Kenya. National Council for Law Reporting. https://www.kenyalaw.org
UNESCO. (2015). Education for All 2000–2015: Achievements and challenges. UNESCO Publishing. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232205
UNICEF. (2022). Public finance for children in Kenya: The state of the budget. UNICEF Kenya. https://www.unicef.org/kenya/reports/public-finance-children
Zizi Afrique Foundation. (2023). Foundational Learning Briefs and Impact Reports. https://ziziafrique.org/resources
