Experts: Speech ignored key education issues
National
By
Lewis Nyaundi
| Nov 21, 2025
President William Ruto yesterday stated the obvious and ignored the crises facing the education sector.
The President swept under the carpet critical issues of declining primary and secondary school funding, uncertainty over transition to senior school, the fate of teachers medical scheme, promotions, and teething problems emerging from the rollout of senior secondary school.
Ruto also failed to address the contract expiry of 20,000 intern teacher with just a month left.
Education sector players expressed disappointment.
“All these are issues we expected the President to address in his speech, but failed to. Now we remain in a very uncertain state,” said Willy Kuria, Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman.
He added: “Secondary schools are in the dark on the transition and the noise by junior school teachers is threatening the stability of that level of learning.”
Instead, the President made more promises, stating plans to employ 24,000 intern teachers in January. He also noted plans to construct 1,600 laboratories and highlighted the construction of 23,000 classrooms.
Ruto credited his administration for the expansion of technical vocational institutions, leading to a spike in enrollment from 341,000 when he took office to 718,000 currently.
Education players termed his address on the sector as “terribly underwhelming”, steering away from issues that have resulted in tensions, policy confusion and stalled reforms.
With just a month to the senior secondary school transition, Kuria said the shift remains undefined, with unclear placement rules, inadequate books and teaching materials.
He also raised concern over the delayed release of billions owed to publishers to facilitate printing of textbooks to be used by the first cohort of senior secondary school learners.
“Talk to parents and you will find how anxious they are on this senior school issue. They are completely in the dark. They have no idea what needs to be done,” Kuria said.
Kuria revealed that secondary schools are also in oblivion over the subjects and pathways the institutions will offer next year.
Kenya Junior School Teachers Association (KEJUSTA) also decried the silence on issues affecting their members. Okil Okil, KEJUSTA national chairman, said the President had promised in September to confirm intern teachers after serving for one year.
“Now we are told that the intern teachers may have to serve for an extra year before they are confirmed, which is causing a lot of distress. These are issues teachers were awaiting answers on,” Okil said.
Okil said the President should calm disquiet in the push for separate management of primary and junior secondary schools.
He warns that the tensions the management row is causing could hurt learning in the institutions.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) is also seeking assurance on the implementation of the new teachers’ medical cover set to take effect on December 1.
The medical scheme previously administered by MINET will now be managed by the Social Health Authority, but there are fears about teething problems hampering services delivery.
“One thing we sought assurance on is that teachers will not face any hiccups when seeking medical attention once SHA is adopted as our main cover,” Collins Oyuu, the KNUT Secretary General, told The Standard.
At the same time, education policy makers are calling on Ruto to come clear on the funding of free education.
Usawa Agenda Executive Director Emmanuel Manyasa says the decline in funding exposes parents to exploitation by rogue school heads and compromises quality of education.
“Despite the strides made in the sector, decline in funding threatens to undo all that. It is long overdue that we have a conversation on how to address the issue, and the President should have put his voice on this,” he said.