The Basic Education Bill, 2026, which is undergoing public participation, has kicked up a storm due to the proposal for county commissioners to be appointed as County Education Board chairpersons.
Education stakeholders have opposed the move, saying it is retrogressive and would strip the boards of the independence they have had over the years since then President Mwai Kibaki promulgated the Constitution in 2010.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) First Vice-Chairperson, Mr Malel Langat, Mr Edward Obwocha, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Secretary for Secondary Schools, and Mr Paul Kimetto, the Bomet branch executive secretary, said the proposer and drafter of the Bill should re-look at the document and make amendments based on stakeholders’ views.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers National Secretary Secondary Edward Obwocha.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
“Returning the county commissioner as the chairperson of the education board is retrogressive as it takes us back to the days when a District Commissioner could make unilateral decisions on the management of learning institutions,” Mr Langat said.
He said the county education boards, as currently structured, helped to streamline the basic education sector and checked the excesses of senior government officials, including the county commissioner, County Director for Education and County Director for the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Mr Mwango ordered the teacher to be shaved publicly without soap or water as he had a goatee that made him look like a “he-goat”. The incident infuriated then President Daniel Moi.
Former District Commissioner Fred Mwango (left). PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Mr Langat, who was accompanied by Mr Alfred Rop, the Knut National Executive Committee (NEC) member, Bomet branch officials Mr Desmond Langat (secretary), Mr Davis Mitei (chairman), Peter Rono (treasurer) and Woman Representative Betty Langat, said the chairperson of the education board is competitively picked and the standards should not be lowered.
“The previous rule that an educationist of note, with experience in management, was competitively picked as chairperson of the board should be maintained. We cannot afford to compromise the standards of education in this country,” Mr Langat said.
The unionists wondered why the government sought to reverse the gains made in the management of the education sector at a time when the sector was facing various challenges.
Mr Edward Obwocha, the Kuppet Secretary for Secondary Schools, and Mr Paul Kimetto, the Bomet branch executive secretary, separately said on Friday that there was a serious need to relook at the proposed Basic Education Bill, 2026.
“The County Education Board chairperson position in the current system is more or less that of a chief executive officer of an organisation; why do we want to lower the standards ?” Mr Obwocha wondered.
Mr Kimetto said: “A county commissioner has his hands full, and should be left to be chairperson of the county security committee and other organs, but not the County Education Board.”
The Bill proposes that each County Education Board comprise a chairperson and 15 members appointed by the Education Cabinet Secretary, with the county commissioner serving as chairperson and the County Director of Education as secretary.
Membership would include representatives from the county government, TSC, religious organisations, teachers’ unions, private schools, parents, persons with disabilities, head teachers’ and principals’ associations, and a child rights organisation. The CS would be required to ensure gender, ethnic and religious balance, transparency and equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Board members would require at least a secondary school certificate, with three additional members eligible for co-option based on relevant skills and experience. The boards would also appoint Boards of Management for public schools and adult and continuing education centres.
Environmentalist Dr Stephen Koskei also criticised the proposal, saying making county commissioners chairpersons would reverse gains in education management. The Basic Education Bill was proposed by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah.
