Education stakeholders poke holes into Basic Education Bill, demand amendments

Education stakeholders in Kilifi and Tana River faults the Basic Education Bill.[Courtesy]

A section of education stakeholders in Kilifi and Tana River Counties have faulted the Basic Education Bill, saying it proposes some of the most punitive penalties that could hinder investment in the sector.

They demanded amendments to some of the proposals before they were passed in the National Assembly.

The chairman of the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) in Kilifi County, Christopher Kambi, said that the proposed fines and penalties for unregistered private schools were way too punitive.

He said if the bill goes through as it is, then it will greatly impact education standards.

The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education and Research is carrying out public participation on six proposed Education Reform Bills that have elicited debate among stakeholders.

“The Basic Education Bill proposes that an investor of an unregistered school be penalised with a Sh. 20 million fine or three years' imprisonment, and our proposal is that before it reaches that level there should be due diligence and the accused be given time to explain. There should be room for dialogue,” he said.

He added that, “Our proposal is that before a private school is registered, the owners must be members of KPSA so that we conduct our procedures to ensure that the new school meets the criteria required by law.”

He also faulted the proposed fees regulations by the ministry of education and proposed that private schools be allowed to dictate their fee structures.

“The bill also proposes regulations on school fees which we have opposed and recommended that we be allowed to set fee structures because we can’t wait for the government to dictate to us the school fees,” he said.

The Executive Secretary of the Kenya Post Primary School Teachers (KUPPET) Kilifi branch Opolo Kopolo said that the junior secondary schools should be made autonomous to ensure smooth operation.

“Introduction of comprehensive schools was a very dangerous move, and the government has spent a lot of money because of the mistake that was made by the presidential working party listening to emotions rather than facts until the junior school was domiciled in primary, and it has been very expensive for the government to employ teachers there, yet human resources were there in the senior school,” he said.

He added that "the government should not be afraid of spending money on creating an autonomous junior school so that we can help that learner.”

Among the bills are the Basic Education (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, the Pre-Service Education, In-Service Training Bill, 2026, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Kenya National Educational Assessments Council Bill, 2026, and the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo, who led the committee, said that the bills seek to address key areas of Kenya’s education system, including tertiary education funding, teacher training, basic education, curriculum development, national assessments and qualifications.

“We have come to Tana River and Kilifi County for public participation and to hear the opinion and views of stakeholders,” he said.