Education is the single greatest investment a nation can make in managing its present and shaping its future, this is according to President William Ruto.

Speaking on Thursday, May 7 during the Second National Education Conference in Nakuru County, President Ruto acknowledged that countries that have fulfiled their development ambitions — from Japan, Germany and South Korea to China, Singapore and Israel — treated education as a national mission and strategic infrastructure,and not a mere social good.

According to President Ruto, bettering Kenya’s education system will be key to the bold national committment his administration has made—propelling Kenya into a first-world status within our lifetime.

“A working education system demands continuous and vigorous evaluation and review to align it with the aspirations behind its introduction,” President Ruto told education stakeholders assembled at Lake Naivasha Resort. “This forum is therefore ideal as it offers an opportunity for candid reflections on the state of our education. It is also an opportunity to assess our successes and reset our priorities.”

This year saw the first cohort of Grade 9 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) join Senior School with over 99% transition.

“We must safeguard the unique ability of education to be an equaliser for all by eliminating man-made bottlenecks that frustrate access to quality learning and stand between our children and a brighter future,” President Ruto urged the stakeholders, who included teachers’ unions and the Ministry of Education.

The Head of State blew his own trumpet, telling the stakholders that his administration takes education seriously, and that is why Treasury disbursed capitation funds to public schools before the opening date.

“We are also accelerating the expansion of classrooms, laboratories, and other learning facilities to cope with the growing number of learners and the demands of the CBE curriculum.”

He called upon Kenyans not to be swayed by naysayers who are always negative about government projects, as the results are starting to be witnessed.

Ghost schools and students

He also slammed a section of teachers whom he accused of aiding and abetting the crisis of ghost students in Kenya’s education system.

“When we carried out audit and when we decided to verify the numbers of students in primaryand secondary schools, we got to know that there were 87,000 ghost students in our secondary schools. Students we were paying capitation for yet they didn’t exist,” President Ruto revealed.

He also revealed that the audit flushed out some 800,000 pupils in primary schools.

More than 100,000 teachers

Since taking office, the Kenya Kwanza Administration went big on teacher recruitment, hiring more than 100,000 teachers, significantly strengthening the capacity of the country’s education system and ensuring that learning is effectively supported at the classroom level.

At the same time, the President Ruto-led government has built more than 23,000 classrooms across the country over the past three years, while also undertaking the development of 1,600 laboratories, particularly in areas that have historically lacked adequate educational infrastructure.

Although the new university funding model has faced criticism from stakeholders, including parents and students, President Ruto lauded the model for “shifting the focus from institutions to students, ensuring that financial support is provided based on need through a structured combination of scholarships, loans, and household contributions.”

“This approach is enabling more young Kenyans to access higher education while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the sector.”

He added: “Equally important is the transformation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. We have repositioned TVET as a central pillar of our economic agenda by expanding institutions, strengthening competency-based training, and deepening collaboration with industry. Through these efforts, we are ensuring that young people acquire relevant skills that lead to employment, entrepreneurship, and productivity, thereby directly contributing to national growth.”