This year's Budget offers teachers a reason to celebrate.

Unlike their counterparts in the civil service who face massive layoffs from next month, the 247,000 teachers will not be retrenched.

But the ban on recruitment will remain in force.

Finance Minister Chris Okemo announced that 25,000 civil servants will be laid off in two years beginning mid next month as part of public sector reforms to reduce expenditure on salaries.

Approximately Sh8 billion has been earmarked for the exercise, which will also include some 1,500 university staffers.

Education Minister Kalonzo Musyoka explained that the Teachers Service Commission was spared the staff cut, but the embargo on recruitment remains until an equitable distribution of teachers is achieved.

For the more than 25,000 qualified teachers who graduated from universities and colleges in the past two years, the news is unwelcome. They will remain jobless for a little longer.

But things are not very bad for the jobless teachers since countries like the Seychelles, Botswana and Mozambique have expressed a desire to employ Kenyan teachers. In fact, some 28 Kenyan teachers jetted out a fortnight ago to take up teaching jobs in the Seychelles.

Of course opportunities may not exist for all the unemployed teachers in those countries. In fact, the Seychelles will only employ 40 in total. .

In the Budget, allocation to the Ministry of Education went up by about Sh2 billion, from Sh46 billion last year to Sh48. The increase is to meet expected normal rise in salaries for teachers and ministry employees.

Although government statistics indicate that the country needs approximately 12,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools, especially in mathematics, sciences and languages, there are glaring disparities in distribution.

The TSC began a staff redistribution programme last year, aimed at effecting a balanced allotment of teachers. However, the exercise has been resisted by teachers who argue that it was punitive and carried out in an opaque manner.

The impact of the exercise has not been felt and the disparities still exist.

For example, ministry statistics indicate that Nairobi is over-established by 704 teachers, Meru Central by 1,006 and Nyeri by 613.

Other over-established areas are Baringo 779, Koibatek 723 and Embu 526.

Machakos, however, is understaffed by 276 teachers, Makueni 762, Kitui 488, Kisumu 730 and Mwingi 459. In total, some 8,505 teachers should be redistributed to cater for the areas, which are understaffed by 8,264 personnel. World Bank statistics show that most schools are operating on a pupil/teacher ratio of 30:1 in primary schools and 16:1 in secondary. But the standard ratio is 40:1 for primary and 30:1 for secondary schools.

This indicates that a rational re-distribution exercise can bridge the shortfalls if carried out well.

The budget did not provide any allocation for development projects in Egerton, Kenyatta and Nairobi universities as opposed to last year. But Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology received Sh952,524 for the completion of its science complex, while Moi University got Sh36 million for the construction of water supplies and sewerage systems.

Technical training institutes will face a reduction of funds for development from Sh15 million last year to Sh11 million this year.

Mr Okemo said the Budget was geared towards raising enrolment rates at all levels of education. The gross enrolment rate currently stands at 88 per cent down from 95 per cent in 1990.

He attributed the situation to the rising costs borne by parents, who provide learning materials, uniforms and pay fees.

To address the situation, the government will collaborate with development partners to increase funding for the buying text books. It will also revise the curriculum to ensure quality and relevance of the subjects taught.

Other measures include increasing funding for buying essential equipment in schools and improving and expanding the school feeding and bursary programmes.

The government will also boost the Higher Education Loans Board to provide more loans efficiently and effectively.

Funding for the school equipment scheme was increased from Sh262 million to Sh346 million.

Bursaries also rose from Sh614 million to Sh670 million. The school feeding programme was allocated Sh123 million, up from Sh113 million.

Although bursaries for university students were raised from Sh69,000 last year to Sh80,000 this year, allocations to the loans' board remained at Sh600 million.

An education and gender specialist at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research, Dr Okwach Abagi, said the Budget will result in increased costs for parents due to the three per cent increase on Value Added Tax.

"Prices for school stationery, learning materials and food will definitely go up as a result of the rise in VAT and this makes little sense of Mr Okemo's assertions that the government is committed to achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015 through lowering costs," Dr Abagi said.

He expressed dismay at the failure of the minister to make reference to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Kenya's Education System.

Said Dr Abagi: "How can the government talk about revising the curriculum and relevance of subjects as well as raising the gross enrolment rates without referring to the Koech Report, which gave clear and workable recommendations on those aspects?"

The Vice-chancellor of Kenyatta University, Prof George Eshiwani, said the government should have introduced tax rebates on computers bought by schools, colleges and universities.

"In this Information Age, the government ought to have waived taxes on computers bought by learning institutions to lower costs for schools.''

Computer studies were introduced as an examinable subject in 1998 but only a few schools offer the lessons due to the prohibitive costs.

TSC secretary Benjamin Sogomo praised the Budget, saying it prioritised the education sector. He was glad that retrenchment of teachers had been put on hold.