The recent remarks
by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on the admission of Grade 10
students to national schools — particularly his emphasis on perceived exclusion
of the Mt Kenya region — have reignited a sensitive national debate on
education equity and regional balance.
While such concerns deserve sober
discussion, the framing and tone adopted risk deepening regional antagonism
rather than advancing constructive solutions.
Once again, the Northeastern region finds
itself drawn into a national conversation characterised more by political
symbolism than policy substance.
Any serious
analysis of Kenya’s education landscape must begin with historical context. The
majority of national schools in central Kenya were established along
the East Africa Railway line long before and Independence, largely through
collaboration with colonial administrators, missionary activity and strong
local community mobilisation.
These institutions were built in an era when northern Kenya was
deliberately referred to as the “Closed Districts”
marginalised under colonial and post-Independence governance frameworks that
restricted movement, investment and access to social services. The disparities
we see today are therefore not accidental; they are the product of
long-standing structural exclusion.
It was against this
background that the clamour for a new constitutional dispensation finally
yielded results with the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.
Devolution was
re-introduced in 2013, rightly hailed as a transformative moment for
historically marginalised regions. Since then, northern Kenya counties have received
hundreds of billions of shillings through equitable share allocations, in
addition to CDF resources and donor-funded programmes.
These investments were
intended to close historical gaps in education, health and infrastructure.
More than a decade
into devolution, great progress and outcomes on the ground are felt, especially
in Mandera county, though the functions of national and county governments are
distinct and complement each other, as provided in Schedule 4 of the
Constitution.
Across in northern Kenya, Mandera county has made great progress by fully
developing medical, teachers and training colleges comparable to institutions
elsewhere in the country.
Kudos to Governor Mohamed Khalif for his commitment
and focus on services. At the same time, the county has provided bursaries and
scholarships to all students in the three institutions, enabling graduates to
prepare for the labour markets locally, nationally, regionally and
internationally.
At this juncture,
it is no longer enough to attribute failures to historical marginalisation. A
candid assessment points to serious governance deficits at the local level. The
promise of devolution has been undermined by weak leadership, corruption,
politicisation of development priorities, mushrooming of villages and
settlements, the persistence of negative ethnicity and clan-based patronage
systems.
This reality does
not absolve national leaders of responsibility as education is largely a national government function.
Education policy must be grounded in equity, merit and deliberate affirmative
investment in under-served regions.
Nor does it justify rhetoric that appears
to pit regions against each other for political gain. National cohesion cannot
be built by amplifying grievances without addressing governance failures across
all regions.
Equally, leaders
from marginalised areas must resist the temptation to weaponise historical
injustice as a perpetual defence against present-day accountability. Devolution
was not designed to replace centralised marginalisation with decentralised
mismanagement. Its success depends on ethical leadership, good governance,
institutional capacity and active citizen oversight.
Kenya’s education
system should be a platform for social integration and shared national
identity. Admission to national schools must therefore reflect both fairness
and intentional capacity-building where gaps exist. This requires investment,
policy coherence and leadership that prioritises long-term national interest
over short-term political mobilisation.
Ultimately, the
challenge facing Kenya is not merely one of resource allocation, but of
leadership quality and civic responsibility. Honest national dialogue —
grounded in evidence, history and accountability — is the only path toward
addressing inequality without breeding hate and resentment. The Kenya child
from Fikow in Mandera or Kikuyu in Kiambu whose futures depend on these
institutions deserve more than political theatre; they deserve results.
