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Olympic Primary School
Caption for the landscape image:

Govt starves learners in feeding plan budget cuts

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Learners at Olympic Primary School in Nairobi are served food on July 26,2024 

Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group

Thousands of learners from poor households risk dropping out of school following a significant budget cut to the government’s school feeding programme.

The allocation has been reduced from Sh4.9 billion to Sh3 billion, well below the Ministry of Education’s proposed annual requirement of Sh7.2 billion.

A school feeding programme in a school in Turkana.  

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

The programme supports over 2.65 million learners from vulnerable backgrounds across 26 counties, primarily in the arid and semi-arid lands (Asals) and among urban poor communities. With reduced funding, the ability of these children to consistently attend school is now under threat, potentially worsening educational outcomes and retention rates.

The decision to slash the budget by nearly Sh2 billion contradicts a key promise made by President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza Alliance during the 2022 election campaigns. In their manifesto and the Kenya Kwanza Education Charter, they pledged to double the allocation to the school feeding programme, aiming to raise the number of beneficiaries from two million to four million.

They also promised to provide conditional grants to counties to expand the programme and reach up to eight million learners in primary and early childhood education centres.

However, the current budget not only falls short of that promise, it also marks a potential reversal of the modest progress made since President Ruto took office. At the time, the programme’s budget stood at Sh1.96 billion. The current allocation of Sh3 billion—while higher—still lags the promised Sh3.92 billion had the amount been doubled.

 Launch of Nairobi County School Feeding Programme at Roysambu Primary Schoo

President William Ruto, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Nairobi Women Representative Esther Passaris during the Launch of Nairobi County School Feeding Programme at Roysambu Primary School on June 20, 2023.
 

Photo credit: PCS

Furthermore, the number of learners covered under the programme has only grown marginally, from 2,538,200 in 2022 to 2,651,600 in 2025, an increase of just 113,330. This is far below the projected target of four million beneficiaries.

The cutback comes at a time when funding for other government operations has been significantly increased. For instance, the budget for the renovation and refurbishment of State House and State lodges has been raised by Sh2.3 billion. Similarly, the Executive Office of the President has seen its budget grow substantially.

School feeding programme

School feeding programme in a school in Turkana County.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

These skewed allocations have sparked concerns about the government’s priorities, particularly its commitment to social welfare and educational equity.

The school meals programme is implemented by the Ministry of Education. Several county governments also supplement the programme.