Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has accused President William Ruto’s administration of mismanaging the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Matiang’i said the crisis facing Kenya’s education system is due to poor implementation rather than a flawed model.
Speaking during an interview, the Jubilee Party presidential hopeful said the CBC was well thought out and backed by long-term national planning, but claimed the current government abandoned the groundwork laid by the previous administration, creating confusion across the sector.
“The education system has no problem, but the problem lies in the implementation. When our brothers and sisters came into government, they brought confusion and are now blaming it on the failed model while they have failed in the implementation,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i noted that the decision to change Kenya’s education system was anchored in Vision 2030, which aimed to shift learning away from exam-based outcomes toward skills development.
Politicizing education
He accused the government of failing to understand the CBC framework and warned that politicising education reforms has worsened the situation.
The former Education CS also proposed expanding day secondary schools to lower the cost of education for families, allowing learners to study close to home.
He suggested that students should attend local secondary schools and only move further away when joining colleges and universities to promote national integration.
Grade 10 transition
Matiang’i’s remarks come amid growing concern over challenges facing CBC implementation, particularly the transition of learners from junior secondary to senior secondary school.
Government data shows that only about 85 per cent of eligible learners have enrolled in Grade 10, leaving roughly 15 per cent yet to report.
Earlier assessments had placed the transition rate as low as 75 per cent, forcing the government to extend enrollment deadlines and launch mop-up exercises across the country to track and admit learners who were left out.
The CBC rollout has also been hampered by shortages of trained teachers, learning materials, and specialised facilities, especially for science and technical subjects, raising concerns among parents, teachers, and education stakeholders about the system’s readiness.
While the government has maintained that CBC is fully funded and on course, Matiang’i insists that unless implementation gaps are addressed and education is kept free from political interference, learners will continue to suffer the consequences of poor planning.
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