To avoid protests, the Kenyan president orders the transfer of 23 billion shillings to schools.

Kenyan President William Ruto has instructed Education Minister Julius Ogamba to disburse all funding allocated for the second term to all government schools immediately, before the second term officially begins.

The Kenyan president's directives aim to ensure that the educational process in the country runs smoothly without any financial obstacles that negatively affect it.

During his speech at the National Drama Festival ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nairobi on Friday, April 17, the President of Kenya directed the Ministry of Education to ensure that the full amount of funding allocated for the second term, amounting to 23 billion Kenyan shillings, is transferred to all schools before next week, in preparation for the reopening of schools.

In his speech, Ruto stressed that his administration is committed to ensuring that schools receive their financial allocations on time to facilitate the educational process.

The Kenyan president added: "As we did last year, we made sure that the funds allocated for financial allowances arrived before the start of the school year.".

He continued: “The Minister of Education is here, and he will take responsibility for ensuring that the 23 billion Kenyan shillings allocated for financial aid arrive on time before the start of the school year.”.

Ruto added: "We will disburse funds in advance to ensure that our teachers have all the necessary resources before the start of the school year.".

The government threatens to organize protests.

According to local media reports in Kenya, school principals have previously had to bear the consequences of delays in the disbursement of government allocations, despite similar assurances from the government.

In January of this year, Ndende Nyoro, a Kenyan member of parliament for the Kiharu constituency, was forced to threaten the government with nationwide protests after it delayed the disbursement of student funding.

Students in Kenya are expected to resume their second term on April 27, according to the academic calendar. The second term will last 14 weeks and end on July 31, 2026. Following this, students will have a three-week break from August 3 to 21, 2026.

Exam dates in Kenya

According to the Kenyan government, the mid-term break is also scheduled to be between June 24 and 28, 2026. Schools will reopen for the crucial third and final term on August 24, 2026, and close on October 23, 2026, after nine weeks of study.

The examinations will then be held immediately afterward, starting on October 26, 2026, across all levels of the new competency-based curriculum. The Kenya Primary School Assessment Examinations (KPSEA) will begin on October 26, 2026, and end on October 29, while the Kenya Junior School Assessment Examinations (KILEA) and the Kenya Junior School Assessment Examinations (KJSEA) will begin on the same date.

The Kenyan Pre-Vocational Educational Assessment Examinations (KPLEA) will begin on November 2, 2026. The Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations will begin on November 2, 2026 and end on November 20, 2026, paving the way for an eight-week December holiday.