Kisii senator Richard Onyonka has advocated for free education right from primary school, all the way to university.
Speaking during a forum that was organized by Citizen TV at JKUAT to discuss the new university funding model, Onyonka noted that the budget being allocated to the ministry of education alone is what the late former president Mwai Kibaki used to run the country with during the first years of his adminstration.
The senator added that the money set aside for education was ending up in people’s pockets.
“University education, primary school education, secondary school education in Kenya must be free. Why do I say so? We are giving the Ministry of Education 633 billion shillings a year. That is the money President Kibaki run this country with the first year he took office and his second year.
“He paid teachers, doctors, lawyers, that is the budget of the Ministry of Education only. Where is the money going? The money that you people are supposed to get as capitation for you to go to school for free is being eaten by gentlemen and ladies,” Onyoka said.
He added that those responsible for creating the funding model are unaware of the backgrounds of the students.
Senator Onyonka: University education, primary school education, secondary school education in Kenya must be free. Why do I say so? We are giving the Ministry of Education 633 billion shillings a year. That is the money President Kibaki run this country the first year he took… pic.twitter.com/xePj0Nqvcp
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 3, 2024
He further faulted the amount of money that was being disbursed to over 200,000 university students as HELBÂ yet parliament was receiving more money with only 700 members.
“The reason why am so passionate and feel deeply frustrated by what my government is doing is actually am an example of a beneficiary of somebody who used the free university education system. I went to the University of Nairobi, I did not carry a single penny. The government used to give us boom, which was sh2,000 a month,” Onyoka said.
He added that, “I finished university and then IMF and World Bank, this is what these people are implementing, they said you can’t take an African and allow them to go to school because they gonna know where minerals are, they are going to know where money is they are going to know how to take care of themselves. So that Africa can come up and grow.”
“So where are you? You are caught and left in a catch 22 position, HELB. How can you give HELB 21 billion and yet HELB is dealing with 200,000 university students and you give me in the National Assembly and the Senate 36 billion shillings and we are only 700 people?” He further posed.
