With August 8 general elections fast approaching, politicians are doing everything they can to position themselves for a successful tilt at the Presidency.
The ruling coalition, Jubilee Party, is not leaving anything to chance and is doing everything to consolidate its grip on power.
In a move aimed to woo voters, the government has now pledged to make secondary education free should Kenyans hand Jubilee another term in office during the August polls.
“From January next year, secondary school education will be free in public schools if you give us another chance,” pledged Deputy President William Ruto while speaking in Migori County on Friday.
This new development is a change of policy since President Uhuru Kenyatta had said the government will make universal secondary education free in 2019.
The Head of State made the pledge while addressing the 41st Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) annual national conference on June 23, 2016.
Ruto said by making secondary education free the government will remove many of the factors that make students drop out of high school.
“This will make the transition from primary to secondary school possible for all KCPE candidates and also reduce cases of students dropping out school,” Ruto noted.
In 2008, the government introduced Free Day Secondary Education where it started paying Sh10,265 for each student a year. The figure has been increasing every year.