Review the school infrastructure funding model to create equity

Poor and inequitable infrastructure are some of the factors hindering learning in most schools in Africa. There is an increasing urgency to review basic education financing to achieve evenness in infrastructural development across schools in Kenya. This would help keep all students in school and achieve effective learning.

The continent devoted 2024 to the African Union (AU) Year of Education with Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century as its theme.

Kenya's education financing has not made it feasible for many schools to achieve the basic infrastructure necessary for good learning. Creating symmetry will demand a variation in the Maintenance Infrastructure Fund (MIF) financing model for schools.

The AU concept note on education financing highlights the quest to galvanise member states toward the achievement of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa — CESA (2016-2025) and SDG4 targets. It proposes robust advocacy for equitable and efficient budget allocation and use, including a renewed commitment to allocate at least 20 percent of budget allocation to education.

According to Education Finance Watch (EFW) 2023- the African Edition on Regional Economic Communities (REC), in 2021, funding only declined in the Economic Community of Central African States by 7.3 percent.

The largest increase (nine percent) in real terms was witnessed in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and (8.5 percent) in the East African Community (EAC).

Kenya spent 4.1 percent of its GDP on education in 2022, according to the World Bank. It allocated 628.6 billion for the 2023-24 financial year to the education sector, representing 27.4 percent of the planned budget. However, disproportions still exist.

Though the current financing model has achieved significant success, it prioritises unvarying allocation per child across schools to enable them to run projects that are aligned with students' learning goals. This model, however, favours schools with bigger enrolments of learners, most of whom have peaked in terms of development.

We need to create another regular fund for the neediest schools to enable them to rapidly upgrade.

In three years, the Competency-Based Curriculum will be fully lodged in basic education.

Let us not allow the mistakes of Junior Secondary School to spill over to the senior section.

Onunga is an educator and Owuor is a researcher.