Ruto says national schools must remain open to all children, warns Gachagua against divisive claims

President William Ruto has condemned rising political rhetoric surrounding the placement of Grade 10 students in national secondary schools, warning that attempts to balkanise education will not be tolerated.

The President insisted that national schools are a shared national resource and must remain accessible to learners from all parts of the country based strictly on merit.

Speaking during the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) fund disbursement in Nakuru, where 9,800 youths received Ksh.25,000 seed capital, the President highlighted the government plan to reduce unemployment.

He dismissed claims that students from certain regions are being disadvantaged, maintaining that the placement system is structured to ensure equity and fairness across the country.

Ruto, taking a swipe at politicians fuelling the debate, accused them of advancing reckless and intellectually hollow arguments.

“We will not allow any politician, however desperate they may be, however bankrupt they may be, to erect new boundaries for our children. We want our children to learn in every institution that is available to them in Kenya. Especially, our national schools must have access to all the children of Kenya equally,” said Ruto.

The President said the government is set to disburse Ksh.5 billion in the next three months in two tranches of Ksh.2.5 billion to the 100,000 youth across the country as seed capital.

The funds, however, will only be available to youth aged between 19 and 29 years, particularly those who did not go beyond high school.

“Part of this programme, we are looking for people who have no qualifications. In three weeks, we will have issued Ksh.2.5 billion to deserving young people of Kenya, 100,000 of them, and in another 2–3 months tutawapaitia another Ksh.2.5 billion vijana wetu,” he stated.

The government has unveiled its plan for recognition of prior learning, through the certification of those with acquired skills by retraining them to assert their skills.

According to President Ruto, the government is targeting at least 20,000 youth for the program, who will be trained and certified at the government cost to allow them to tap into the opportunities in the market.

“Nataka mnisikize vizuri: kama wewe uko na skill lakini hujasoma, hujapata nafasi ya kwenda college yoyote, but you have skills we are ready to work with you so that we can help you with training, examine you, and certify you na tutalipa kama serikali,” noted the Head of State.

Ruto’s remarks come after his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua reiterated that all learners who excel academically must be placed in national schools purely on merit.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader said Kenya must confront challenges arising from the quota placement system, particularly following the implementation of devolution.

Gachagua faulted a system where parents invest heavily in improving community schools only for their children to be placed in far-flung institutions, maintaining that devolution was designed to address historical imbalances, ensuring resources and opportunities are evenly spread across the country.

Speaking during a press briefing in Nyeri County on Friday, Gachagua described it as unfortunate that high-performing learners are locked out of nearby national schools while others with as low as 50 marks secure admission, terming the placement unfair.

He argued that it does not make sense for parents to build laboratories, dormitories and other facilities in local schools, yet their children are denied admission while students with lower marks secure places in national schools.

“All children in Kenya deserve equal treatment. National schools are very critical because they have a very developed infrastructure and they attract the best among children. There must be fairness in the placement of children in national schools,” Gachagua stated.

“I have not insisted that children of a certain area must go to schools where those children are domiciled, no. Where the schools are domiciled, children from that area who qualify must be given an opportunity.”