Kenya can provide free education from kindergarten to university, but the plan will remain out of reach unless the government backs it with political commitment, proper planning and strict accountability, an education policy adviser has said.
FM Boaz Waruku, Policy and Strategy Adviser at the Elimu Bora Working Group, said the country has enough capacity to support learners across all levels of education but must first make the programme a national priority. He said public funds should be deliberately directed towards removing financial and other barriers that keep children from accessing education while also improving the quality of learning.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Tuesday, Waruku said free education should not mean covering only selected items such as tuition or specific school needs. Instead, he said, the government should take responsibility for the full cost of supporting learners throughout their education journey.
“For us as Elimu Bora, our starting point has been that Kenya is capable of providing this full support for children from kindergarten to the university,” he said.
His remarks come after President William Ruto recently said students who sit their secondary school examinations would be placed in further education and supported by his government.
Waruku said such promises must be backed by clear policies, reliable funding and systems capable of delivering the support promised to learners. He argued that education should be treated as an investment in the country rather than simply another government expense.
He identified political goodwill as the starting point for delivering free education, followed by proper planning and accountability in the use of public resources.
“What it would take, political goodwill. I'll start with that, because everything else, all the stars in Kenya are so aligned that we are capable of delivering this. What is lacking is that political goodwill and the discipline to deliver it once declared.”
Waruku said removing fees alone would not guarantee better education, warning that affordability must go hand in hand with quality, equal access and adequate support for learners.
He said the government would need to invest in teachers, classrooms, learning materials, curriculum development and other resources needed to ensure students receive effective education at every stage.
The adviser also raised concerns over the transition from the 8-4-4 system to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), questioning whether the previous system was properly assessed before the major change was introduced.
He argued that Kenya should first have identified the specific weaknesses of 8-4-4 and determined which areas needed to be changed or improved instead of replacing the system without fully addressing the lessons from it.
“I'm among those who really wanted to know whether where was the 8-4-4 failing so badly that could not be fixed, and which could not be fixed to align with our dream or to the national goals as a country,” he said.
Waruku said the education review should also have taken into account the gaps in technical and vocational education and training, including the decline of technical institutions that had traditionally equipped learners with practical skills.
He said the rollout of CBC had exposed weaknesses in teacher preparation, classroom capacity and the availability of learning materials, raising questions about the readiness of schools to handle major changes in the education system.
According to Waruku, learners should not simply be moved from one level to another without ensuring they have gained the knowledge and skills needed for the next stage.
He said teachers and institutions must be adequately prepared before major education reforms are introduced, adding that curriculum changes should be matched with the right teaching methods and resources.
“Quality education and training at all those levels, and then we say when you are doing it, also because quality must also come from knowing that even the curriculum, the pedagogy, all those things that you want are aligned,” he said.
Waruku cited Finland as an example of a country that regularly reviews its education system and works with key stakeholders to improve learning outcomes.
He said Kenya could draw from a similar approach by giving professionals a greater role in shaping education policy and relying on evidence when making decisions, rather than allowing political interests to drive reforms.
He said achieving free education from kindergarten through university would therefore require more than a government declaration. It would depend on sustained financing, political commitment, proper preparation of teachers and institutions, accountability in the use of public resources and regular assessment of whether education reforms are delivering the intended results.