NAIROBI, Kenya – President William Ruto has announced the creation of a Sh200 million annual Education Infrastructure Fund aimed at improving access to quality learning facilities in minority and marginalised communities across the country.
The fund, to be managed by the Ministry of Education, will support the construction, upgrading and equipping of schools and middle-level colleges in historically underserved regions.
Speaking on Thursday at State House during the International Day for Minority Rights, the President said the initiative is part of a broader government push to address long-standing inequalities affecting minority groups.
At the same time, Ruto directed the establishment of a Sh500 million National Minority Scholarship Programme, to be financed annually in partnership with private sector players.
The programme will target children from indigent minority and marginalised communities, enabling them to access both secondary and tertiary education.
“Education remains the most powerful equaliser. These interventions are designed to ensure no Kenyan child is left behind because of where they were born,” Ruto said.
Beyond education, the President ordered the Water, Roads and Health ministries, working alongside the Equalisation Fund, to prioritise minority and marginalised regions in the provision of clean water, access roads and health facilities, arguing that improved social infrastructure is key to sustainable development.
Further, the Government will pay Social Health Authority contributions for 200,000 vulnerable people drawn from minority and marginalised communities, ensuring access to essential healthcare services.These initiatives represent just a few of the progressive measures we are
New policy framework
The measures will be implemented under the newly launched National Policy on Ethnic Minorities, Indigenous and Marginalised Communities (2025–2035), which seeks to systematically address social, economic and political challenges facing these groups.
Central to the policy is the creation of a Minorities and Marginalised Communities Directorate, which will serve as the government’s main coordinating unit on minority affairs.
“This guarantees a permanent and authoritative voice for minority concerns across government, with focal points in every ministry and county,” Ruto said.
He directed that the directorate be immediately established within the Office of the President to oversee implementation across national and county governments.
In addition, governors have been instructed to set up County Minority Inclusion Units and to integrate the policy’s provisions into their next County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs).
In addition, the Ministry of Education will set aside KSh200 million annually as an Education Infrastructure Fund to build, upgrade, and equip schools and colleges in minority and marginalised areas.
Legal backing
To strengthen its mandate, the President elevated the unit into a semi-autonomous agency, granting it legal and financial authority to coordinate, implement and safeguard matters relating to minority and marginalised communities.
Ruto further tasked the Attorney-General, in consultation with the Kenya Law Reform Commission, with drafting legislation to establish a National Council for Ethnic Minorities and Marginalised Communities and align existing laws with the new policy framework.
He said the reforms mark a turning point in Kenya’s governance approach, promising a future anchored on inclusion, dignity and shared progress.
“Minority communities are central to our national identity and indispensable to Kenya’s peace and prosperity,” the President said.
