Karua vows to introduce free education if elected president in 2027
People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has pledged to introduce free education from nursery to university if elected president in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a grassroots mobilisation tour in Kajiado West on Saturday, May 24, 2025, Karua outlined her vision for education financing, stating that her government would prioritise public interest by removing the financial burden of school fees from parents and placing it on the national tax system.
“We have been told parents are struggling to pay school fees. Almost every household has the same problem. The most important support that the PLP and Martha Karua’s government will bring is free education for every child — from nursery to secondary, and finally to university,” she stated.
Karua blamed the current leadership for misplaced priorities, accusing state officials of misusing public resources and ignoring the plight of ordinary citizens.
“Leadership that destroys public property uses it as if it were personal and forgets the interests of the people,” Karua stated.
The opposition leader argued that her proposed free education system is not only attainable but also necessary, provided that public resources are managed prudently and equitably.
“That burden must be lifted from parents and placed on the taxes we all pay. It is possible if we respect public resources. Let public wealth be used for the benefit of Kenyans,” Karua stated.
Budget cuts
Karua’s remarks come at a time when the government is considering significant changes in education funding, including the planned removal of the Ksh5 billion national exam fee waiver beginning in 2026.
The waiver, introduced under former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration in 2015, was designed to support the 100 per cent school transition policy.
However, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has said that from 2026, only needy candidates will benefit from state-sponsored exam registration.
“We have to review the costs in the sense that we must ask ourselves, why should we pay examination fees for all students? You see, in 2026, Kenya is projected to have approximately 3 million students sitting for their national examinations, around 1.2 million anticipated to sit for KPSEA, and over 960,000 for KCSE,” Mbadi said during a media interview on May 23, 2025.
He argued that expecting taxpayers — some of whom are barely surviving — to pay exam fees for children in elite private schools is unjustifiable.
“If your child is learning in a private school where you pay Ksh300,000, Ksh1 million in a year, honestly, can’t you pay Ksh5,000 for the examination fee for that child? Why should you force, make Kenyans, taxpayers, some of whom can barely eke a living, to pay an examination fee for your child?”
