Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has affirmed Kenya’s commitment to ensuring all children learn in safe and secure environments.
Mudavadi, who spoke when he opened the Fifth International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in Nairobi, said the world must now turn long-standing promises into concrete action to protect education from attacks.
He noted that violence against schools and learners continues to rise globally, with thousands of institutions forced to shut down in conflict-hit regions.
“These events are more than statistics; they are stories of interrupted futures,” he said during the conference.
A host of ministers, diplomats, UN officials and child-protection experts are attending the meeting.
Mudavadi also announced new efforts to strengthen coordination between security and education agencies, improve teacher preparedness during crises and sustain learning even during emergencies through targeted programmes in high-risk counties.
He urged governments to stop the illegal use of schools by armed groups, strengthen accountability for attacks on education and increase investments to keep learners safe.
“Let Nairobi be remembered as the place where we moved from political commitments to real action,” he said.
Earlier, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba welcomed delegates and reaffirmed Kenya’s intention to fully integrate the Safe Schools Declaration into national education and security policies.
He praised the broad global turnout and stressed that learning “must never be suspended, even in the face of adversity.”
CS Ogamba added that Kenya has expanded psychosocial support, improved inter-ministerial coordination and put in place strategies to ensure learning continues during periods of localised instability.
The three-day conference, themed “Safe Education for All: A Decade of Commitment, A Call to Action,” has attracted participants from 121 countries, development agencies, civil society groups and youth advocates.
It is co-hosted with Norway, Argentina, Spain, Nigeria, the African Union, UNICEF, UNESCO and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.
