The Ministry of Education (MoE) has differed with sentiments expressed by Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) that the country’s education sector is in a crisis.
Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Julius Ogamba, in a statement on Thursday, said the education sector in the country is stable against the ruthless assessment of KCCB hours earlier.
The bishops had criticized President William Ruto’s government over unexplained killings, abductions, widespread corruption, a growing culture of deception, and a chaotic education system.
“Corruption may not always involve financial gain but can also mean the unjust use of position and authority or abuse of office. The massive greed we are witnessing is shocking and heartbreaking,” said KCCB Chair Maurice Muhatia.
They stated that the education sector structures, particularly the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and higher education funding, are not working.
“We have matters of national concern, such as the crumbling CBC education system, health care services, reconstitution of the IEBC, a huge block of educated but unemployed youth and fighting the monster of corruption among others, that are surely top priorities,” the clergy said.
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In his response, CS Ogamba said the education sector, especially the adversely mentioned sub-sectors, were working perfectly well.
The CS emphasized that CBC has undergone extensive stakeholder consultation and public participation, and that KCCB as well as other groups presented their input through the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform (PWPER).
He said the government has streamlined CBC’s learning areas and placed Junior School in primary schools, a move endorsed by over 93% of submissions to PWPER.
According to the CS, CBC implementation has been systematically supported with both resources and infrastructure.
For Grade 9, which marks the final year of Junior School, the government began textbook distribution on October 23, 2024 after ensuring core textbooks for Grades 7 and 8 were available at a one-to-one ratio.
There has also been construction of 16,000 classrooms required for Grade 9, backed by a Ksh17.6 billion allocation.
The government has employed 56,950 teachers, with plans to hire 46,000 intern teachers on a permanent basis by January 2025.
It also has an additional 20,000 teachers who are also being recruited. This significant investment, according to the ministry, can hardly be described as crumbling.
On higher education, there has been introduction of student centred funding model following recommendations by PWPER, and the government has disbursed upwards of Ksh41 billion to universities in loans and scholarships to the two cohorts of students since 2023.
The new funding model has eased the financial burden on universities, which had been indebted to the tune of Ksh70 billion, with many becoming technically insolvent.
“To ensure that the model is improved the president has appointed a national working committee to collate views from the public to refine the model,” the CS said.
The CS further urged the Catholic clergy not to condemn a whole education system that has over 11 million learners.
By Obegi Malack
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