Madrassa, Duksi to be integrated into formal system

President William Ruto, during Madaraka Day celebrations at Wajir Stadium. [PCS]

President William Ruto has announced education reforms targeting Northern Kenya and marginalised areas.

The Head of State has directed the formal integration of Madrassa, Duksi, and the Programme for Pastoral Instruction into the national education framework to ensure all learners have recognised pathways into education and future opportunities.

Speaking during this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations held in Wajir County, President Ruto said education remains the government’s most important investment in transforming historically marginalised regions and unlocking national development.

“Some children in Northern Kenya and other marginalised regions remain outside the formal education system because certain alternative learning pathways have not been adequately recognised or accommodated within our education framework,” he said.

Ruto’s announcement on alternative learning pathways drew significant attention as he acknowledged that some children in marginalised communities remain outside formal education structures.

“This challenge is particularly evident in the absence of a clear framework to recognise and integrate Duksi, Madrassa, and the Programme for Pastoral Instruction into the national education system,” he said.

He then issued a directive to the Cabinet Secretary for Education to engage stakeholders and initiate measures under the Basic Education Act to formalise integration.

“This will ensure that every child, regardless of background or circumstance, has a recognised pathway into learning, skills, and opportunity. Every child deserves a door into learning. It is our duty to open every door."

Ruto noted that in the Northern Kenya region, the government has committed to a school feeding programme to retain learners in school.

“No child will be denied the opportunity to learn because of geography or historical neglect. School feeding programmes are already supporting 2.4 million learners in arid regions, while we continue to deploy teachers, build infrastructure and expand digital connectivity across the region,” he said.

The celebration held under the theme “Education, Skills and the Future,” President Ruto described education as the most powerful tool available to any nation, positioning it as the bridge between opportunity and prosperity.

“Of all the tools a nation possesses, education is the most potent. It is the bridge between promise and possibility. Between poverty and prosperity. Between exclusion and belonging,” he said.

The President added that Kenya’s next phase of national liberation would not be achieved through conventional means but through investment in knowledge, innovation, and skills.

The announcement comes at a time when the government is positioning education reforms as a central pillar of economic transformation through the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) system. 

President Ruto said Kenya’s education model is shifting from an examination-centred system toward one that identifies and develops learners’ talents, critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and innovation.

“The Competency-Based Education and Training system is transforming what learning means in Kenya,” he said, adding that the system is designed to nurture unique abilities in every child.

He revealed that 52 per cent of learners in the first-ever Grade 10 cohort had selected the STEM pathway, describing the trend as evidence of a generation preparing to drive Kenya’s industrial and technological future.

To support these ambitions, Ruto said the national education budget had expanded from Sh500 billion in 2022 to more than KSh702 billion today. He further noted that more than 100,000 teachers had been recruited over three years, with an additional 20,000 expected this year.

A major highlight of the address was the government’s commitment to expanding teacher capacity and local recruitment in Northern Kenya.

President Ruto announced that 1,800 teachers drawn from Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa had been employed under an affirmative action programme and would be deployed across the region to address long-standing teacher shortages.

“Three years ago, we agreed that the lasting solution to teacher shortages in this region was to train more local teachers,” he said.

He added that the operationalisation of Wajir, Kotulo, and Mandera Teachers Training Colleges alongside Garissa TTC had expanded opportunities for local teacher production, with 4,616 young people from the region currently enrolled in teacher training institutions.

The President also highlighted major investments in school infrastructure, noting that 23,000 classrooms had been built nationally and 1,600 laboratories were under construction, many targeting underserved regions.

More than 850,000 learners are enrolled in TVET institutions, while school feeding programmes continue supporting 2.4 million learners in arid regions, according to the President.

The President further announced plans to fund the establishment of Wajir County’s first university, describing higher education access as critical to accelerating development in Northern Kenya.