President William Ruto has announced the government will devolve bursary allocation and distribution, pointing to several issues that have blocked funds from reaching county governments.
Speaking at State House during the UDA National Governing Council meeting on Monday, January 26, 2026, the President revealed that the national government has held consultations with the Controller of Budget and other stakeholders about managing bursaries.
“We have resolved the matter. The process of bursaries will now be actualised since the agreement between the national government and county governments has been concluded. We have resolved that now the process of bursaries be actualised as the agreement between the national and county government has been concluded,” Ruto said.
Ruto observed that although bursary disbursement falls under the national government’s mandate, reaching an agreement with county governments was essential to ensure effective implementation at the grassroots level.
Additionally, the President noted that the national government has finalized agreements with all county administrations, which will now enable the Controller of Budget to release funds to counties for the bursary programme.
This move aims to ensure no child gets locked out of school due to lack of fees, reinforcing the government’s commitment to keeping learners in class.
Ruto’s remarks followed a directive to the Ministry of Education to work with the Council of Governors to create a framework that resolves disputes which had prevented county governments from issuing bursaries for secondary schools and higher learning institutions.
The Controller of Budget had earlier maintained that issuing bursaries for tertiary institutions was a national government function, not a county responsibility. This stance led to disputes with counties, which have consistently demanded the right to distribute funds to learners.
However, President Ruto cleared the path for counties to issue bursaries by signing the County Allocation of Revenue Act of 2025, which increased the equitable share for counties to KSh 415 billion – funds intended to enable counties to design and implement local programs including bursaries.
With this announcement, counties will now wait for the Controller of Budget to approve the release before beginning to disburse funds to learners.
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