The ongoing fight between the Council of Governors and the National Assembly over the NG-CDF is risking the educational future of millions of needy students across the 290 constituencies in Kenya.
According to NG-CDF CEO Yusuf Mbonu, in the past, access to education was very expensive, denying many children from poor families the opportunity to learn, as only those with livestock or land could sell assets to raise school fees.
However, in 2003, the NG-CDF was introduced mainly to rescue children from poor backgrounds by funding their education through a clearly set-out criterion guided by the Ministry of Education and the NG-CDF Board.
“For the last 20 years, the NG-CDF has changed many lives and driven development in all the 290 constituencies. This is visible enough, as legislators are now allowed to use up to 40 per cent of the funds for bursaries, where parents meet and are issued with cheques for their children. This has been very helpful to many Kenyans,” said Yusuf, the NG-CDF CEO.
He added that funds are allocated based on the number of wards in each constituency, with the least-funded constituencies having three wards and the highest having eight wards, as a fair way of sharing resources.
Yusuf noted that in 22 years, Wundanyi constituency received a total of KSh 2 billion, while in just 13 years it has received over KSh 49.5 billion, applauding the fund for supporting numerous development projects.
The CEO expressed disappointment over the push by the Council of Governors, who went to court demanding that the NG-CDF be scrapped and the funds instead allocated to county governments to be managed by governors. He termed the move political, saying it would deny children access to education as a basic right guaranteed under Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya.
“I can assure our leaders and parents that if the Council of Governors wins this battle and the NG-CDF is removed from national management through Members of Parliament and handed over to governors, they will be denying education rights to children from less privileged families in Kenya. The Constitution is very clear on the responsibility of the national government to achieve basic education rights through the NG-CDF,” said Yusuf.
He blamed some activists and county leaders for moving to court to challenge the programme. In 2024, the High Court ordered that the NG-CDF should stop its activities by 2026, a move he said was driven by politics at the expense of children’s lives in Kenya.
“What I can say is that even if the funds are taken to governors today, they will not be able to utilise them because it will be against the Constitution. As NG-CDF, we have appealed the order and are now asking Members of Parliament to help us in this battle by collecting public views on this programme before the 2027 election. Unfortunately, some MPs are vying for county governor positions,” he added.
These remarks were made in Wundanyi during an education conference forum where a total of KSh 13 million was disbursed to support Grade 10 students, with each beneficiary receiving KSh 10,000 courtesy of NG-CDF Wundanyi. During the forum, Wundanyi MP Hon. Danson Mwashako applauded the NG-CDF for supporting programmes in education, infrastructure, and security, saying it is through the fund that many families in Wundanyi have hope for the future after their children graduate.
Parents present were urged to monitor their children’s behavior and ensure they perform well in their studies, noting that the NG-CDF has already paid their school fees.
