GRB in the new education system

The substantial benefits and drawbacks of Kenya’s new university funding scheme have sparked a range of reactions

By  Benta Mukami

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adoption calls for robust commitment and effort aimed towards achieving gender equality and empowerment to all women and girls. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) provides an opportunity for   the Kenya national government through it funding model to disburse budgetary allocations with gender priorities and commitments being a prime factor.  Ample funding for programs aimed at women’s economic empowerment is necessary to realize women’s control over resources, raise their income levels, and improve their ability to make decisions in their homes and public places, according to KU-WEEHUB’s policy.

In these modern times, education and skill acquisition have shown to be a firm foundation and crucial to the empowerment of women and girls. Education not only equalizes the gender gap, but it also sets a standard based on merit that allows women to compete fairly with their male counterparts around the world. Since independence, the Kenyan government has consistently supported and contributed to educational funding schemes. This is clearly obvious in both the current and previous educational systems.

The previous Kenyan education system, known as the 8-4-4 system, used a mixed funding approach that included both public and private funding, the majority of which were made by parents. Free education was reintroduced in January 2003 during President Mwai Kibaki’s reign, allowing people of any age and from different income levels to enter in primary school and complete their education, while free secondary education was later implemented in 2007. This resulted in a massive growth in the number of students and intellectuals across the country. For women and girls, this meant equitable access to education and a reduction in gender disparities in various regions and communities.

The new education system, Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), was established and implemented with the goal of providing a more comprehensive funding model than its predecessor. The CBC has greatly increased government financing for education, while the Kenyan government has launched a number of efforts to encourage Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in education. The government, through GRB, has made great progress by allocating appropriate finances for; targeted support for girls’ education, gender responsive infrastructure, teacher training on gender equality, and gender-sensitive curricula.

The substantial benefits and drawbacks of Kenya’s new university funding scheme have sparked a range of reactions. The now termed “Kenya’s revolutionary” educational finance model divides financial support for students into bands according to their household income. Family history, gender, the Kenyan poverty report, and the student’s prior educational background are among the variables that the Means Testing Instrument (MTI) model uses to cluster students into funding bands. Depending on the student’s need, the Universities Fund will award scholarships ranging from 30 to 70 percent. Household contributions and loans will cover for the remaining balance.

There are benefits and drawbacks to this funding approach to gender-responsive budgeting (GRB). For example, it makes education more accessible to girls from low-income families, making them less vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV) and giving them a sense of empowerment. Furthermore, by giving targeted support to the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals, the concept is consistent with GRB ideals.

On the other hand, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) along with other organizations have filed an appeal demanding that the funding model be discontinued immediately, claiming that it is discriminatory and will result in even more students being denied access to financial support for their tertiary education. According to members of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, the criteria used to identify which category a student fits into when applying for financing cannot be justified. This is owing to the numerous loopholes, defects, and assumptions that exist.

For instance, an array of students have complained about being placed in the incorrect band, while others have claimed that the new funding model compels them to enroll in courses at the university they can afford instead of the ones they desire to pursue and are eligible for. This runs counter to GRB’s core principles of empowering women because there seems to be an inadequate effect on resources for education. According to KU-Wee Hub’s key policy messages on GRB, the national government should seek to increase resources towards addressing women’s economic empowerment issues in order to improve women’s welfare through higher income levels, greater access to education and entrepreneurial skills, and further enhancement of women’s decision-making and control over resources.