President William Ruto has announced that his government intends to construct 5,000 classrooms in Nairobi to keep children in schools.

Speaking at AIC Church Milimani Nairobi on Sunday, Ruto noted that the number of children staying out of school is on an alarming rise and there is a need to tame the looming crisis. 

He therefore intimated that he will be meeting with County leadership to kickstart his ambitious plan.

"I will be meeting the leadership of Nairobi because there are close to 10,000 children who are not going to school in Nairobi and that is very serious. I will be meeting Members of Parliament," Ruto noted.

"We have already provided resources because we want to build an extra 5,000 classrooms in Nairobi to make sure that all our children especially those living in informal settlements go to school."

Ruto further noted that his government has been keen on providing better opportunities for the Kenyan youth, noting that the recent Nairobi River Regeneration Project launch has already employed 10,000 young citizens.

"We rolled out our programme (on October 1) that now has 10,000 young people working. I want to promise you that the river you have in Nairobi, in two years' time you will have a different river," he said.

"We cannot have the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi and have the dirty river that we have. It is an indictment on us."

He noted that he will work with relevant stakeholders to help him realise the plan to clean the city's river.

President Ruto further expressed confidence in his government's policies which he says will instill permanent change.

"I am happy that from the humble beginnings of our nation, we have a country that stands out globally that many nations look up to for leadership and support. Sometimes we underestimate what Kenya is. It is a great nation and we should be proud of it," added Ruto.

"I will make sure that I will oversee the transformation of Kenya. I am very confident that we are going to change Kenya."