Ruto: We’re ready for Grade 9 transition in 2025

President William Ruto has said that the government has completed preparations for learners to transition to grade nine early next year.

The President added that the construction of 11,000 extra classrooms around the country is at an advanced stage, as is the provision of adequate learning materials.

Speaking when he opened the Second Ministerial Meeting on the Taskforce of the School Meals Coalition in Nairobi, Ruto called on MPs to build an extra 6,000 classrooms with funding from the National Government Constituency Development Fund.

This, he said, will help grade nine learners to get adequate facilities when schools open in January.

“There will be a book for every subject for every learner. This will ensure that the transition is complete and effective,” he said.

The School Meals Coalition is an international effort to improve and scale up school feeding programmes to ensure that every child receives a healthy and nutritious meal by 2030.

"They make adequate nutrition accessible, foster learning, create jobs, promote sustainability and uplift communities,” Ruto said.

In Kenya, the school feeding programme was initially implemented in Nairobi in 1966 and expanded nationally in 1980 in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP).

In 2023, the Nairobi County Government rolled out an ambitious meals programme in all primary schools, called 'Dishi na County', in the capital city.

In the 17 kitchens across the city, learners are provided a tasty, nutritious meal each day for only Sh5.

Speaking at the meeting, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said learner enrollment has shot up in city schools.

"We used to have 210,000 children in Nairobi schools. Today, we have 316, 000," he said.

To accommodate the increasing numbers, the national government has allocated Sh1 billion for the construction of new classrooms in Nairobi County.

President Ruto said he will soon convene a meeting with the leadership of the county to discuss education matters.

"We intend to build another 5,000 classrooms in Nairobi. There are still many children in informal schools. Although the schools are great initiatives, they do not have the kind of infrastructure that facilitates the teaching and learning process for our children,"  hesaid. 

Ruto said all learners in primary and secondary schools, as well as children above the age of five, will enjoy medical insurance under the new Social Health Authority.