The debate over the state of Kenya’s education system has taken a political turn, with President William Ruto and former Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i exchanging strong words over who is to blame for the current challenges.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to long-standing problems in schools, universities, and technical institutions.
Speaking on Monday, February 2, in Kisumu, President Ruto said his administration is focused on correcting failures it found when it took office.
He argued that the education sector was already struggling and needed urgent intervention.
According to the President, key areas of concern included inadequate capitation for schools, a shortage of teachers, and serious financial problems in public universities and TVET institutions.
“I have seen some leaders trying to lecture us about the education system. We want to tell them we are fixing your mess. You messed the education system. There were no teachers in class, there was inadequate capitation, there was no enough money for universities and TVETs, 21 universities were facing closure because of insolvency,” said Ruto.
He went on to state that his government has increased capitation funding and improved the timing of disbursements to schools.
The President also said efforts have been made to address staffing shortages and financial instability in higher education institutions.
“Please spare us your lectures; we are simply fixing your mess. today we have more money going to capitation. This month, money for capitation was in schools even before schools got to school.
“We have hired 100,000 teachers to fix the challenge of teacher shortage that you left behind; we have added more money for universities and TVETs to fix the problem of insolvency that was there,” Ruto added.
These remarks came shortly after Matiang’i dismissed claims that he was responsible for the problems linked to the Competency Based Curriculum. In a statement released on Friday, January 30, he blamed the current leadership for mismanaging the education sector and unfairly shifting blame to the curriculum.
“Speaking during an interview on Wednesday night, Aden Duale claimed that the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) was my mess, one that the current administration is allegedly trying to fix.”
The real mess we are witnessing today is not the curriculum itself, but the gross incompetence with which the administration he serves has managed the education sector,” he said.
Matiang’i also criticised how the 100 per cent transition policy has been handled, saying poor management had weakened earlier gains.
He maintained that the core issue is leadership, not the structure of the curriculum itself.
“And let us be frank. Whether they inherited CBC, 8-4-4, or 7-6-3, the outcome would have been the same. Incompetence is the only thing they execute with consistency,” he continued.
Defending the CBC, Matiang’i concluded by linking current difficulties to what he described as disorganised implementation, while expressing confidence that the system can still be corrected.
