Kaluma calls for more national schools in marginalised regions
By Cy Muganda, January 10, 2026Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has weighed in on the ongoing National Schools debate, calling for the establishment of more schools in marginalised regions, arguing that the current distribution is skewed and denies students from certain areas equal opportunities.
In a statement posted on his X account on Saturday, January 10, 2026, Kaluma emphasised that education is a national government function and that all Kenyans have a right to benefit from national schools built using taxpayers’ money.
“Education is a National Government function, not a county role,” Kaluma stated.
Need for govt intervention
The outspoken legislator criticised what he described as the selective establishment of national schools, calling for deliberate government intervention to address the gaps.
“The National Schools were selectively established and built using our taxes. Let more national schools be established in marginalised regions,” Kaluma stated.
Kaluma further defended the principle of merit-based admission, saying national schools should remain accessible to top-performing students regardless of their county of origin.
“Students from across Kenya to be admitted to National Schools on merit,” the MP said.
National schools debate
The remarks come days after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua questioned the national placement service policy that gives special consideration to learners from historically marginalised regions in accessing national and extra-county schools.
Speaking at AIPCA Kiratina Church in Githunguri, Kiambu County, on Sunday, January 4, 2026, Gachagua claimed that students from other regions secure places in national schools within Mt Kenya, while local learners are sent to lower-tier institutions.
“Other people are being brought to our schools here, like Alliance, Mang’u, and others, while our children are being placed in lowly-ranked schools despite having higher grades. There is total confusion in the education system. Parents do not know what to do,” Gachagua said.
He suggested that Mt Kenya students should receive priority in top regional schools, a stance that drew immediate criticism from President William Ruto, who warned against the ethnic framing of national school placement.
“How desperate can people be? Let our children be, let our children learn. Those children are Kenyans; wherever they come from, whatever community they belong to, they are our children, the children of Kenya,” Ruto stated on January 9, 2025.