Kenya’s Catholic Bishops Laud Government for Development, Decry “confusion” in Education, Health Sectors

“We also note the construction of many TVET colleges throughout the country, as we encourage our young people to take advantage of these institutions to get needed skills,” they said, and added, “We thank God for the relative peace we have enjoyed this year in spite of the prevalent political tensions,” they said.

They encouraged young people to take advantage of TVET institutions to gain essential skills for self-reliance.

The Bishops however expressed concern over what they described as “confusion in the education sector”, noting that the teachers, students, and even parents are still struggling to familiarize themselves with the new education system in Kenya, the Competency–Based Education (CBE), which has recently replaced the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) which was introduced in 2017.

Kenya’s education system has transitioned from the 8-4-4 system to the CBC and now to CBE.

The 8-4-4 system, introduced in 1985, focused on academic achievement. 2017, CBC shifted attention to skill development and holistic learning through a 2-6-3-3-3 structure. Building on this, CBE—introduced in 2025—emphasizes practical, skill-based learning and industry alignment to enhance employability and meet labor market demands.

“The confusion in the education sector in the past few years is astounding,” the Bishops said at the press conference, and added, “It would seem decisions have responded more to political expediency than the good of the learners.”

“The rationale, choices, and general development of the CBC that has now taken the CBE tag have been without clear guidance to the teachers, parents, and students,” they said.

“This is a risk to the future of the children going through a system, with no clear end expectation.  There is still contestation in the syllabus, including the inclusion of Religious Education,” they added.

The Catholic Church Leaders in Kenya expressed concern over the shortage of teachers in different parts of the country, calling upon the Kenyan government to prioritize equal distribution of recruited teachers, especially in schools located in rural areas.

They also addressed the issue of capitation, encouraging the heads of schools to come up with tactics on how to run their schools effectively without increasing their fees or sending children home in case of capitation delays.

“We should not gamble with our children’s lives,” they cautioned.

About the health sector, the Catholic Bishops acknowledged the benefits of the new Social Health Authority (SHA) but faulted the Kenyan government for delays in reimbursing hospitals for services rendered.

“For sure, many people have received treatment under the new SHA coverage in many hospitals, for which we are grateful. However, the Medical Scheme cannot survive if the Health providers, that is, the Hospitals, are not timely and sufficiently paid for the services they provide to the patients. We take exception to allegations of incompetence and fraud when we ask for our rights!” the Catholic Bishops said.

The Bishops emphasized that some of the faith-based hospitals and private hospitals are unable to offer basic services to the people of God in Kenya due to unpaid or delayed payments to their hospitals countrywide from the SHA.

“The lingering inefficiencies of SHA will eventually cost us dearly. We, the Catholic Bishops, still await the payment of all pending arrears owed to our hospitals, any other Faith-based hospital, and private hospitals across the country,” they said.

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“We ask that the matter of huge uncleared National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) dues be fast-tracked and paid by the Government. Many Faith-based Hospitals are on the brink of closing due to unpaid claims,” they added.

On governance, the Catholic Bishops renewed their call to the Kenyan government to end corruption, which was said to be the main cause of underdevelopment and poor services in the East African nation.

“Reports from the Auditor General and other oversight bodies confirm that corruption is deeply embedded in government systems, crippling service delivery and undermining national growth. This reminds us that our biggest setback as a country remains the high level of corruption in many of our systems and at all levels of decision-making,” they said.

Members of the K.C.C.B. encouraged Kenyans to “break the chains of corruption” by “confronting the dangerous complacency that has allowed it to become normalized in our country.”

In their press release, the Catholic Bishops have condemned corruption, calling upon the service providers to lead by example by “living with integrity and setting the tone for accountability.”

The Catholic Bishops called upon all the people of God in Kenya, including the national government, to “act decisively to reject unethical and corrupt actions.”

 “We cannot condemn corruption publicly while tolerating it privately; integrity must be lived, taught, and defended with courage and consistency in all places,” they added.