Prof. Laban P. Ayiro Calls for Strong Schools Built on Culture, Virtue and Human Formation at the KESSHA National Conference

Daystar University Vice Chancellor Prof. Laban Ayiro delivers a speech during the KESSHA Conference

By Purity Karunda

[Mombasa: June 24, 2026] The lived realities of school culture, teacher cooperation, family participation and community partnerships will define the effectiveness of the Competency Based Education (CBE).

This was said by Daystar University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Laban P. Ayiro, in an address to more than 7,000 Principals during this year’s annual Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) conference, held at Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan School in Mombasa.

In his moving keynote speech themed: Strong Schools, Collaborative Leadership, and Human Formation, Prof. Ayiro challenged the school administrators to deeply reflect on the kind of students they want to see coming out of secondary schools, over and above syllabus coverage and delivery of good results.

Weaving Scripture into his speech, Prof. Ayiro spoke about the paradox of 21st-century education, noting that while access to information has increased, wisdom had not proportionately increased. He cited the rising rate of anxiety, depression and moral decay among the youth, highlighting the critical need for schools to develop emotionally healthy citizens, virtuous leaders, purpose-driven, and capable students.

Prof. Ayiro drew examples from his leadership experience to demonstrate how culture influences institutions, pointing out that when school culture is resistant to change, reforms fail. Prof. Ayiro further emphasized that strong schools are characterized by their capacity to continuously generate flourishing students through strong connections, great teaching and powerful formation rather than by wealth or facilities.

Prof. Ayiro also used the opportunity to advocate for servant leadership as he urged Principals to serve as role models by mentoring and teaching students in classroom.

"Your legacy will not be that you were a headmaster, it is based on contributions rather than title,” he said.

Prof. Ayiro proposed four quotients necessary for future leaders: IQ (Intelligence Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient), and VQ (Virtue Quotient) and CQ (Cultural Quotient). emphasizing the importance of virtue and emotional intelligence in addition to academic capacity. He warned that talent without virtue becomes dangerous, emphasizing stewardship, integrity and humility as crucial qualities for leaders.

"Let us build schools that produce competence without arrogance, knowledge without pride, success without selfishness, and leadership without corruption," he said as he concluded his speech.

The audience left with a clear challenge from his message: to go beyond information to formation, beyond performance to purpose and beyond achievement to meaning

Daystar University Vice Chancellor Prof. Laban Ayiro interacts with delegates at the KESSHA Conference