Ruto Directs Integration of Madrasa and Duksi Into Kenya Basic Education

He highlighted efforts to address chronic teacher shortages in northern Kenya through an affirmative action programme that has led to the operationalisation of teacher training colleges in Wajir, Kutulo and Mandera.

"Today, through this affirmative action programme, a record 1,800 local teachers from Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties have been employed and will be deployed in the region," he said. The President also revealed that 4,616 students from the region are currently enrolled in teacher training colleges, the highest number recorded in the area's history.

Beyond education reforms, Ruto used the national celebrations to defend his administration's decision to abolish the controversial vetting process for national identity cards in northern Kenya, saying the move was intended to end decades of discrimination against legitimate Kenyan citizens.

He recounted the experience of a Wajir resident who, despite being born in Kenya, repeatedly faced hurdles in obtaining a national identity card. "For more than six decades, this was the lived experience of hundreds of thousands of Kenyans in northern Kenya," Ruto said. "We did not abolish verification of citizenship.

The President said the reforms introduced through the Presidential Declaration on Registration and Issuance of IDs and Birth Certificates in Northern Kenya, signed in Wajir in February 2025, have already enabled thousands of young people to obtain identity documents without extra vetting procedures.

Ruto further outlined major government investments in education, healthcare, housing, roads, and livestock development across northern Kenya. He announced that construction of a civilian terminal at Wajir Airport will begin before the end of 2026 and confirmed plans to establish a university in the county.

"Wajir is not the edge of Kenya, Wajir is Kenya," Ruto said.