Ruto only needs to sustain education, not fix it – Irungu Nyakera
By David Nthua, November 7, 2025Former Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA)boss Irungu Nyakera has come out to fault the William Ruto-led government over the state of the education sector.
Speaking to a local radio station on Friday, November 7, 2025, Nyakera said the country’s education system had been functioning well before recent policy changes disrupted its stability.
According to him, President Ruto did not need to overhaul the system but only to maintain and strengthen what was already working.
“Education is the only thing that makes the children of the rich and those of the poor sit at the same table. It is an equaliser.
“I don’t even think that the President needed to fix it because it was working. He just needed to sustain it,” Nyakera said.
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Nyakera added that Kenya’s education system, from primary to secondary and university levels, had been effective for years, but recent policy shifts have created unnecessary challenges for learners and parents.
“If you look at all the levels of education, they were working. But for the last two years, schools have not been allowing students to sit for exams if they have fee arrears,” he noted.
Rising school fees and parental burden
Nyakera expressed concern that the cost of education is fast becoming unaffordable for many families.
He pointed out that parents, especially those in public day schools, are now being forced to shoulder costs that were previously covered by the government.
“You go to primary schools, parents are now chipping in since the Kibaki era.
“The minister has already made it clear that from next year, parents will be paying higher fees.
“Look at the day schools, from next year they will be paying Ksh19,000,” he said.
He warned that such trends are gradually turning education from a basic right into a privilege only accessible to those who can afford it.
“We have moved from education being a right to education being a privilege,” Nyakera lamented.
His remarks come at a time when many parents have expressed frustration over the rising cost of schooling and government delays in releasing funds to support the free education program.