If you spend more on education, will students do better?
This controversial topic of debate originates from the influential 1966 Coleman Report, which found no connection between how much money is spent per student and test performance. Coleman concluded that family socioeconomic background is a much more important determinant of educational achievement, as measured by standardised test scores, than spending on schools.
However, if President Dr William Ruto’s recent remarks following the release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results are anything to go by, then, regardless of that past empirical researcher’s findings, spending more on education certainly impacts students’ overall results.
> KCSE 2024: Starehe Boys Sends ‘100%’ of Students to Universities
Speaking while commissioning the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Kerio Valley Campus, a few hours after receiving the KCSE 2024 briefing at State House, Nairobi, the President said that the latest exam results provide strong evidence that increased government investment in education, especially in tutoring interventions and facility upgrades, can produce significant learning gains for a wide range of students, including those who have fallen behind academically.
“The teachers we hired, the facilities we provided, and the additional budget we have committed have begun to bear fruit,” said Ruto.
Out of the 965,512 students who sat for KCSE in 2024, 246,391 achieved the minimum university entry grade of C+ and above, marking an 18% rise from the 201,133 qualifying candidates in 2023.
“The performance in last year’s KCSE examination is better than in 2023, while in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the performance is also better than the previous year. Our girls have also performed better than they did in the past,” he added.
The President noted that Kenya is poised to take even more significant steps to further improve student achievement, with plans to hire an additional 20,000 teachers, adding to the 56,000 newly employed educators, part of a promising strategy to close achievement and opportunity gaps in schools nationwide.
For higher educational opportunities, especially in KMTCs and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools—where the majority of the KCSE 2024 students (over 700,000), who did not qualify for university, are expected to attend—the President repeatedly emphasised that disparities in funding have a direct impact on learning opportunities. He stressed that for many students, education is their best hope for developing their talents and maximising their contributions to the country’s economy. Therefore, the government plans to increase the budgetary allocation to KMTCs and similar post-secondary training institutions in the next financial year, including Ksh600 million to employ 400 tutors.
“This will ensure that every part of Kenya, every constituency, and every county has such facilities, equipped and staffed with teachers and lecturers so that we can unlock the potential for health personnel training in various fields,” Ruto stated.
Lastly, the President praised the New Higher Education Funding Model, highlighting its critical role in promoting equitable access to quality education. He noted that it supports students fairly, based on their financial needs, ensuring that no student is left behind.
> Can You Access KCSE 2024 Results via SMS?
Truth be told. Cheating is back.