Ruto sounds alarm as 29% of Grade 9 learners lack basic reading and numeracy skills

President William Ruto has raised concern over the quality of learning in Kenya's junior schools after disclosing that 29 per cent of Grade 9 learners have not acquired basic reading and numeracy skills, pointing to a gap between academic progression and actual learning achievement.

The disclosure has placed the implementation of Competency-Based Education (CBE) under renewed scrutiny, with questions over whether learners are mastering foundational competencies before advancing to higher levels.

Addressing the Kenya Comprehensive Schools Heads Association (KECSHA) National Annual General Meeting in Mombasa on November 12, 2026, Ruto warned that Kenya risks producing learners who progress through the education system without acquiring the skills needed to function effectively in society.

Ruto cited World Bank estimates showing that nine out of every 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of 10. He described foundational learning as an urgent challenge requiring deliberate government intervention, and said education must be judged by what learners can demonstrate and not by the certificates they eventually obtain.

"A certificate without competence obeys the letter of our Constitution, but betrays its spirit," he said.

He invoked Article 53 of the Constitution, which guarantees every child the right to free and compulsory basic education, and Article 55, which requires the State to ensure young people access relevant education and training.

The President argued that meaningful educational transformation rests on three pillars: adequate and properly supported teachers, sufficient learning infrastructure and funding that responds to the actual needs of learners.

On teacher recruitment, Ruto said the government had employed 100,000 teachers over the past four years, with another 20,000 expected to join the workforce in December 2026. He said the country inherited a shortage of about 116,000 teachers in 2022, which required accelerated recruitment.

The government has also constructed 23,000 classrooms and is developing 1,600 laboratories for senior schools, according to the President.

He emphasised that the competency-based curriculum requires learners to engage in practical activities and not to rely exclusively on theory. "A child learns science by doing science, by mixing, measuring and making, not by copying diagrams from a chalkboard," Ruto said.

Ruto acknowledged that teachers and infrastructure alone would not improve learning outcomes without sufficient funding. He admitted that school capitation had not undergone a major review since 2015, despite increasing demands on institutions.

The allocation has been adjusted from Sh1,040 to Sh1,400 and then to Sh2,300 per learner, but the President indicated that further increases were necessary. He directed Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to examine the existing funding framework and submit a report by January 2027 to guide a possible upward revision of capitation.

The review could be significant for school administrators who have repeatedly raised concerns about the rising cost of implementing the curriculum, maintaining facilities and meeting learners' needs.

The 29 per cent figure raises questions about the effectiveness of foundational literacy programmes, teacher preparedness, classroom assessment and the interventions available to learners struggling academically. A learner who struggles with reading and basic mathematics in primary school may encounter greater difficulties with more complex concepts in junior and senior school.

CBE was introduced to move the country away from an examination-dominated approach towards developing practical abilities, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The President's disclosure presents a test of whether those aims are translating into measurable improvements in classroom learning.