President William Ruto has lauded the interventions in the country’s education sector, describing the employment of teachers and the curriculum shift to the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system as among the important remedies for the sector.

Speaking on Friday, January 2026, Ruto dismissed the mounting concerns over the state of education in the country regarding capitation and school transitions.

He emphasised that his administration has overseen crucial interventions, such as shifting the education system through the scrapping of police presence in education centres during exams, as a key milestone.

Ruto stated that, due to the new directive and a shift to a system not solely focused on passing exams but on holistic development, exams have moved from being a life-and-death affair.

“We had a time when exams were manned by police; now it is part of learning, and we have removed police from managing it,” he stated.

The President further listed the infrastructural projects undertaken by his government as major gains from where the country was before Kenya Kwanza came to power.

“In 2022 we had huge challenges in the education sector. There was a chronic shortage of teachers and classrooms; we had funding challenges hitting our universities and TVETs. Today we have sorted all that out. In January, we hired 100,000 teachers last year—no other administration has done so,” he clarified.

Charging for uniforms

Ruto also stated that he had provided resources under the new funding model to ensure all students are assessed as individuals and benefit from scholarships on the basis of need and merit.

He promised more reforms to clean up the education sector by eradicating the exorbitant fees subjected to parents while purchasing school uniforms and other utilities for learners.

“Some schools are charging up to Sh35,000 for uniforms. I have directed that students can transition from junior schools wearing the same uniforms. We will work with stakeholders to ensure we don’t erect additional impediments to education,” he added.

His remarks come days after Education CS Migos Ogamba also cautioned school principals against forcing parents to purchase such utilities from particular shops, individuals, or the schools themselves.

The CS stated that there was no policy from the ministry or government sanctioning such directives and urged parents to report those culpable for appropriate administrative action