Former Education and Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has hit back at Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale following claims that he was responsible for the 'mess' surrounding the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
In an interview on Wednesday, January 28, Duale blamed Matiang’i for the problems associated with the CBC and credited President William Ruto’s administration with fixing the issues.
"Fred Matiang’i was the brainchild of this CBC when he was the minister for education. He messed up that CBC. We are fixing his mess, and it is now working. Some people cannot believe that President Ruto fixed and defined his legacy in three years that some people could not do in 10 years," he said.
In response, Matiang’i rejected Duale’s claims, saying the Health CS had misrepresented both the origins of the CBC and the real challenges facing the education sector.
In a statement on Friday, January 30, he pointed to poor leadership and mismanagement under the current government, arguing that the curriculum is being unfairly blamed for deeper administrative failures.
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"Speaking during an interview on Wednesday night, Aden Duale claimed that the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) was my mess, one that the current administration is allegedly trying to fix.
"The real mess we are witnessing today is not the curriculum itself, but the gross incompetence with which the administration he serves has managed the education sector," he said.
Matiang’i further pointed to the handling of the 100 per cent transition policy as evidence of what he termed systemic failure.
"Even the flagship 100% transition, a major milestone achieved through deliberate planning and system reforms has been badly mishandled and effectively undermined under their watch," he added.
Matiang'i argued that the problems would have persisted regardless of the curriculum in place, insisting that incompetence, not policy design, is at the heart of the crisis.
"And let us be frank. Whether they inherited CBC, 8-4-4, or 7-6-3, the outcome would have been the same. Incompetence is the only thing they execute with consistency," he continued.
Matiang’i also cited criticism from within government ranks, saying even lawmakers aligned to the ruling coalition have raised concerns about leadership at the Ministry of Education.
"In fact, Members of Parliament aligned to government have recently publicly decried the spectacular incompetence of senior officials at the Ministry of Education who are more preoccupied with self-aggrandisement than with the serious business of running the Ministry," he stated.
Matiang’i defended the CBC itself, while linking its challenges to what he described as chaotic management, and hinted at political change in 2027 as the solution.
"There is nothing wrong with the CBC, the present challenge is in the incompetent and chaotic management of the education sector. Hopeless implementation of the curriculum! But there is hope! We are ready to fix this again. When Kenyans rescue the country from incompetence and poor leadership in 2027, we will restore order, professionalism and results driven leadership in the education sector, and government as a whole," he concluded.
This comes days after Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah hit out at senior leadership within the Ministry of Education, accusing them of being disconnected from realities facing schools across the country.
Addressing Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba on Wednesday, the MP questioned the effectiveness and awareness of Principal Secretary Julius Bitok.
Ichung’wah accused the Ministry of Education of having a Principal Secretary who lacks understanding of what is happening in schools and institutions across the country.
“You have the most clueless PS in the ministry of education. He only sits in Nairobi and has no idea on what happens on the ground. Get out of your offices in Nairobi, go to the ground and deal with the problems there," he said.
