Jubilee deputy party leader and presidential hopeful Fred Matiangi has rejected claims by Health CS Aden Duale that he “messed up” the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) during his tenure as Education Cabinet Secretary under the Uhuru Kenyatta administration.
“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," Duale said.
Responding later on Friday, Matiangi dismissed Duale’s accusations, saying the real problem lies not in the curriculum itself but in the mismanagement of the education sector by the current administration.
“The real mess we are witnessing today is not the curriculum, but the gross incompetence with which the administration he serves has managed the education sector,” Matiangi said.
He singled out the 100% transition policy, describing it as a major milestone deliberately planned and successfully implemented during his tenure, but now “badly mishandled and effectively undermined” under the current government.
Matiangi added that whether the system had been 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 also accused government-aligned MPs of publicly criticizing senior officials at the Ministry of Education, saying they have become “more preoccupied with self-aggrandisement than with the serious business of running the Ministry.”
“There is nothing wrong with CBC. The present challenge is the incompetent and chaotic management of the education sector. Hopeless implementation of the curriculum!” Matiangi said.
He concluded by promising reform should Kenyans vote for a change in leadership in 2027.
“We are ready to fix this again. We will restore order, professionalism, and results-driven leadership in the education sector and government as a whole," he added.