Critics Question Effectiveness of Ruto's Town Hall Meetings

On August 25, 2024, President William Ruto held a town hall meeting with the university student leadership to deliberate on issues related to the new Higher Education Funding Model. 

"I did invite you so that we can have a conversation on one of the most important subjects, and that is education. It is an important subject because all of you know that education is the equalizer that makes the children of every citizen from all communities and all walks of life, coming from all backgrounds, to be equal," he said in his opening remarks.

The discussions on the platform have prompted various reactions from the Kenyan population.

Notably, this is the third time the President has held a town hall meeting with the citizens to discuss issues of national importance.

However, despite the President's ceaseless efforts to listen to the national public's views, some Kenyans still feel that the meetings need to be fruitful.

While some support his relentless efforts to reach the people through town hall gatherings, the majority are still skewing toward the negative through their criticisms on various social media platforms.

Some have equated the meetings to a way of negating the truth by simply explaining further policies in a broad way, which, even after the meetings, needs to be clearly understood.

Other reactions question why the Cabinet Secretary for Education is silent on this issue of national importance regarding the education of Kenyan children.

@minarchismnow

Why is the CS education not making these statements? Are we aiding and abetting dictatorship by allowing one man to have the say on everything?

The comments also weighed in on the performance of past presidents, especially the late President Mwai Kibaki, who they say was not pressured to hold such meetings but performed exemplarily during his reign.

The event has been portrayed as one that does not genuinely live up to its objective of listening to and incorporating the public's views into the country's policies.

@muragejoemfalme

Those town hall meetings were mere facades to force a university model down the throats of struggling parents. No decisive outcomes emerged, only coercive tactics masked as dialogue.

In his reassuring words, the President expounded on how education is essential to the nation in producing the most critical asset of human capital worldwide. He passionately added that the government invests close to 29% of its budget on education.

With the affirmations made plain, doubt still lingers about the effectiveness of the new Higher Education Funding Model, which has resulted in unsatisfactory reactions and responses.