President William Ruto has pledged support for the construction of 40 modern classrooms at Maseno School as the institution marked 120 years since its establishment.
The classrooms are expected to benefit 1,600 students and support the school’s expansion plans. Ruto said the first 20 classrooms would be completed before the end of the year to allow the school to admit an additional 800 students in January 2027.
“There is no reason why we cannot admit 5,000 students to this school to benefit from the culture of this great institution,” the President said on Saturday during the anniversary celebrations in Kisumu.
Ruto said Maseno School, one of Kenya’s oldest and most prestigious institutions, had maintained a strong record of academic excellence and discipline despite relying largely on infrastructure built by missionaries more than a century ago.
He announced that the Ministry of Lands and Housing will construct dormitories to accommodate 2,000 students, while the Ministry of Education will put up a multipurpose hall.
The President said Maseno School occupies a special place in Kenya’s history, having produced leaders, scholars, clergy, scientists, public servants and freedom fighters who helped shape the country and the region.
“Empires have risen and faded. Governments have changed. Political seasons have come and gone. Yet Maseno has endured,” Ruto said.
The school was established in 1906 by the Church Missionary Society to spread Christianity and educate the sons of African paramount chiefs.
Its notable alumni include Kenya’s first Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, Barack Obama Sr, freedom fighter Achieng’ Oneko, scientist Thomas Odhiambo, historian Bethwell Ogot and the late Festo Olang’, the first African Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya.
During the visit, Ruto toured key heritage sites at the school, including the Oseno tree where the first six students began learning, the house where Jaramogi taught and lived between 1943 and 1945, and the chapel built by missionaries in 1906.
“These are not ordinary places. They are living chapters of Kenyan history,” he said, while commending the school management for preserving the institution’s heritage.
Ruto also praised Maseno School for its discipline record, noting that it had not experienced a student strike in its history.
“While many schools rise and fall with seasons and circumstances, Maseno has consistently remained among the leading centres of academic excellence in Kenya,” he said.
He added that the school’s consistency was the result of culture, discipline, institutional pride and commitment to excellence.
The President said his administration considers education a strategic investment and had increased funding to the sector.
He noted that the education budget had grown from Sh500 billion in 2022 to Sh702 billion in the current financial year, and would rise to Sh767 billion in the 2026/2027 financial year.
“Today, nearly 30 per cent of our budget is allocated to education, one of the highest commitments on the continent,” he said.
Ruto said the government had employed 100,000 teachers over the past three years, built 23,000 classrooms and was constructing 1,600 laboratories across the country.
He also directed the Teachers Service Commission to immediately absorb 25 of the 40 teachers currently employed by the Maseno School Board of Management, adding that the remaining teachers would be recruited in the course of the year.
Present at the event were Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o, Anglican Church Maseno West Bishop Emeritus Joseph Wasonga, Maseno Board of Management Chairman Ambrose Weda, and Maseno School Alumni Association Chairman Joe Ager.
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