Reimagining Kenya’s Education Reform: A Theological-Transformative Critique of The National Education Sector Strategic Plan (2023–2027) Through the Lens of Patristic Education

Kenya’s National Education Sector Strategic Plan (NESSP) 2023–2027 represents an ambitious blueprint aimed at advancing access, equity, quality, relevance, and technological integration in alignment with Vision 2030, Competency-Based Education (CBE), and Sustainable Development Goal 4. While the policy foregrounds structural reform and human capital development, questions remain regarding its capacity to foster holistic learner formation. This study reimagines Kenya’s education reform through a theological-transformative critique grounded in Patristic Education and informed by Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory. Using a qualitative document-based thematic analysis of the NESSP (2023-2027), the study evaluates the policy’s content and formulation process against three core Patristic themes: (i) the intellectual and moral legacy of the Fertile Crescent and the Church Fathers, (ii) the integrative framework of the Three Histories- Past, Present, and Future, and (iii) the development of the Five Faculties- Spiritual Soul, Reason, Conscience, Common Sense, and the Common Good. Findings reveal that while the NESSP strongly advances technical competencies, digital transformation, inclusivity, and data-driven governance, it offers limited explicit integration of moral, spiritual, and ethical formation. The faculties of Reason and Common Sense receive partial expression through emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and innovation; however, Spiritual Soul and Conscience remain underdeveloped within policy priorities. The study argues that without embedding holistic and value-based paradigms, education reform risks producing technically proficient yet ethically under-anchored citizens. It concludes that integrating Patristic principles into Kenya’s strategic education planning could deepen transformative potential, ensuring that reform nurtures competence alongside character, and aligns national development with moral responsibility and the common good.