President William Ruto now says that his government has successfully tackled all the problems that were crippling the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Speaking on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, while inspecting the ongoing construction of the Nkuene Power Substation in Meru County, the president insisted that every challenge the curriculum had been facing had been resolved and that he had hired an additional 76,000 teachers.
He further boasted that these hirings were done in a record two years of his tenure, emphasising that he made it happen because Kenyans had been constantly complaining about CBC.
“You told me to make sure our children get a proper education and to ensure they receive financial support. Well, I have straightened out CBC, and in just two years, I have hired 76,000 teachers to guarantee our children keep learning,” he declared.
University funding
The Head of State went further to link the CBC matter to the recently introduced university funding model, revealing that just as parents had persistently raised concerns about CBC, they had also continually petitioned him to address the funding model.
He hailed that he had also streamlined that, adding that he had recently ordered that all students from poor backgrounds have 90 percent of their tuition fees covered under the new model.
According to him, this sweeping reform was driven by his unwavering commitment to ensuring that every Kenyan child, regardless of their financial background, has access to quality education, adding that he had further directed an increase in the amount allocated to the model to guarantee that the directives he had issued would be implemented seamlessly.
“We have increased funding for university education, and I have directed that under the new university funding model, students from low-income families will have 90 percent of their fees paid through bursaries so that every child has a fair shot at studying in our universities,” he stated.
Electrification projects
Ruto, who was accompanied by his deputy, Kithure Kindiki, was welcomed by an ecstatic crowd in Meru, and amid the fanfare, he took the opportunity to make a series of lofty promises.
First, he revealed that his visit to the county was largely driven by his desire to personally oversee the construction of the Nkuene electricity substation, having learnt that residents had been grappling with persistent and frustrating power outages that had disrupted their daily lives.
He triumphantly announced that he had allocated a staggering Ksh1.8 billion towards ensuring that the entirety of Meru County is connected to a stable power supply, further declaring that a total of 100,000 people would directly benefit from the ambitious electrification programme that his government was rolling out.
“Today, I am here with my team, and we have secured Ksh1.8 billion from the government to connect Meru County to power. Over 100,000 people are going to benefit from this programme,” he declared.
He also said that he was keeping a close eye on the rural electrification project because, to him, electricity should not be a privilege for the rich but a basic necessity for every Kenyan.
“We agreed that electricity is not some luxury for the wealthy—it is a right for every Kenyan. There is nothing wrong with anyone having power in their home. Even the minister in charge is here to make sure this happens,” he assured.
Ruto went on to challenge Meru residents to hold him accountable in a year’s time to evaluate whether the pledged 20,000 households had indeed been connected to electricity, reiterating that his administration would remain transparent in fulfilling its promises.
In a rather dramatic quip, he added that he had recently realised that darkness attracts evil, and his mission to ensure every home in Meru has power was partly because he did not want the devil to find a home there.
“By the end of one year, 20,000 homes must be connected to electricity here in Meru. We have agreed with your MPs that they will identify any villages still without power so we can expand the connection. Let’s increase the light and drive out the darkness—so the devil can pack up and leave. Haven’t you heard that the devil loves lurking in the dark?” he quipped.