CS Machogu’s Move on Educational Reform Implementation.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has put in place four committees to oversee the implementation of educational reforms in the country.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the committees will oversee the implementation of the recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.
The committees include the steering, legal, sessional, and departmental technical committees.
A small portion of the recommendations are already under implementation, including maintaining Junior Secondary Schools in primary schools and adopting the new funding model for higher education. The recruitment of more teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is also among the recommendations the government has already implemented.
However, according to legislators, adopting and actualizing these educational reforms is not within the scope of constitutional provisions.
Members of parliament hold that the recommendations by the team led by Raphael Munavu should be on halt, awaiting parliamentary approval.
According to Omboko Milemba, Member of Parliament for Emuhaya, the new educational reforms limit the scope of the functions of TSC.
The move by the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula to suspend the implementation of the said reforms creates a pathway for conflict between legislators and President William Ruto, whose key focus is seeing the implementation of the recommendations from the Munavu-led team.
Read also: TSC on the Munavu Recommendations
Committees
The steering committee’s role under the Cabinet Secretary’s leadership will be to oversee the entire process. The Committee will also conduct resource mobilization to facilitate the realization of the goals of the educational reform recommendations.
The committee will also be responsible for policy approval and submission to the cabinet. Committee membership will cut across various departments and offices, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, the Council of Governors, the Office of the Attorney General, and representatives from permanent secretary offices for State Departments of Higher Education and Basic Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
The legal committee will comprise members from the Deputy President’s Office, the Prime Cabinet Secretary’s Office, and the Office of the Attorney General. Other members will include the Ministry of Education officers and the Teachers Service Commission.
The sessional Paper committee will include the chief economist and technical officers from various state departments. The chairman of the departmental committee will be the Permanent Secretary.
According to the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the underlying framework for systems and structures must be efficient to achieve the highest levels of education quality.
CS Machogu’s Move on Educational Reform Implementation.