We Must End This Shambolic CBC - David Maraga Goes After Ruto Gov't

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has launched a scathing attack on the Kenya Kwanza administration over the state of the country’s education system, calling for an urgent reset and an end to what he termed a ‘shambolic’ implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

In a statement on Wednesday, January 14, the UGM Party leader stated that access to education must extend beyond enrollment figures and focus on dignity, retention, progression, and completion.

Maraga argued that the current system has failed learners, parents, and teachers, warning that many children are being pushed into despair rather than empowered through education.

“Access must mean more than enrolment. It must mean retention, progression, and completion with dignity,” Maraga said, adding that no child should ever feel that self-harm is their only escape from academic failure.

He faulted the government for championing initiatives such as ‘Digital Literacy’ and the ‘Silicon Savannah’ while ignoring the reality on the ground, where nearly half of public junior secondary schools lack science laboratories, and many still operate without electricity. According to Maraga, innovation cannot thrive in schools that lack basic infrastructure.

Maraga maintained that while technology can support learning, it cannot replace teachers, classrooms, or essential resources. He said digital tools risk deepening inequality if rolled out without proper infrastructure, teacher training, local relevance, and safeguards for equity.

“We must end this shambolic CBC,” he said, calling for an education reset anchored on the constitutional right to education and guided by common sense.

He argued that reforms imposed on citizens by leaders who educate their own children in private schools were unfair and disconnected from the lived realities of most Kenyans.

The former Chief Justice further criticised an education culture obsessed with grades rather than learning outcomes, saying the system produces learners who memorise content but lack critical thinking and life skills. He pointed to evidence showing abnormal grading patterns, with an unusually high number of “Ds” compared to “Cs,” as a sign of systemic failure rather than learner weakness.

In the wider statement, Maraga painted a picture of the education sector under the current administration, citing funding gaps, corruption and poor planning. He said the country faces a shortage of more than 100,000 teachers, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating infrastructure across the education system.

He revealed that public financing for education has dropped sharply, with annual funding per primary school learner falling from approximately Ksh22,244 to Kh12,870; a reduction of about 45 per cent. At the same time, the national government is reportedly spending over Ksh1.9 trillion annually on debt servicing, accounting for more than 75 per cent of total revenues.

Maraga argued that the crisis is not due to a lack of resources but misplaced priorities, accusing the government of choosing debt accumulation, corruption and inflated contracts over classrooms, teachers and learners.