These are our expectations of Education Cabinet Secretary

There has emerged a conversation spearheaded by Gen Z. This generation is standing out to right the wrongs they claim have been committed by the other older generations and claim its position in the country’s governance system.

The conversation has led to heightened tension, demonstrations and picketing. Among the many demands raised by this generation include over taxation, which was to be legalised through the Finance Bill 2024.

The generation felt this is the reason standards of living in the country is too high and unbearable. Additionally, they claimed the aspect of increased domestic taxes discourages investors, which leads to decreased employment opportunities.

The pressure led the president to initiate a raft of changes within government, which included dismissing his entire Cabinet, proposals to reduce government expenditure and remove unconstitutional offices that consume a big chunk of our taxes.

Knut’s focus is on the developments in the reconstitution of the Cabinet. Questions have been raised by the public over the union’s involvement in the nomination of Cabinet Secretaries. The answer is that unions are not in any way involved in either the nominations of CSs or advising the President on who to nominate for the position of, specifically, the CS of Education. This is a presidential function.

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Another question has been on what should be the qualification of a CS to hold the Education docket and whether or not he/she should be an educationist. The answer is that a CS should have the minimum academic requirements laid down for one to be able to perform as a CS. He/she should be in compliance with all other employment requirements, including fulfilling the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution.

It must be remembered, however, that the Education docket has previously been held by great men and women with passion for education, but not having had directly been grounded in education as a sector. For instance, if we take a short journey down memory lane, the Ministry of Education was held by the following Kenyans: William Ruto (2009–2011), a holder of BSc. Botany and Zoology, Mutula Kilonzo (2012-2013), a constitutional lawyer, Jacob Kaimenyi (2013-2015), a medic, Fred Matiang'i (2016-2017), an educationist, Amina Mohammed (2018) a career diplomat, George Magoha (2018-2022), a surgeon, and lately, Ezekiel Machogu (2022-2024), a political scientist.

These great men and a woman had their special contribution in the education docket that moved the sector from one area of need to the other. An example is Mutula Kilonzo. It’s in the annals of history that he walked to Knut head office along Mfangano Street on the afternoon of September 23, 2012, to address the NEC of Knut over governments plan to address the teacher's strike that had lasted three weeks shortly after it had been called off by the then Knut Secretary General.  This was a very unique gesture from a senior government official of his rank. This was a career legal mind serving with passion in the education docket.

The union is aware that the head of state has nominated almost the entire Cabinet among them that of Education. The nomination of Julius Migos Ogamba, a career lawyer, is welcome by Education stakeholders. Knut expects that the National Assembly will perform its constitutional duty. The education sector can only thrive when its leaders work in consultation with all stakeholders. The sector is at a critical moment towards full implementation of a new education system.

Knut expects that the incoming CS will take over and protect all the gains made in the sector, advance what was on-going and ensure total cohesion among stakeholders and ensure the success of all sector plans. To be specific, the new CS is expected to convince the National Assembly to ring-fence the education budget against any intended budget cuts by government in the quest to reduce national budget expenditure in line with the presidential call for austerity measures.

This is in line with the UN and UNESCO declaration that governments of the world must spend between 4 per cent and 20 per cent of their GDP on education. Kenya has done well in this, being a signatory to international treaties and conventions in line with Article 2 (6) of the Kenya Constitution. The funds must keep on improving to make the education sector even better.

The new CS is therefore expected to ensure schools have enough classes, sufficient teachers in proportionate to the learners according to the UN's recommended teachers/ learner ratio, provision of enough teaching and learning materials and full implementation of CBC according to the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.

The union also expects that the CS will ensure the gains made in the management of the examination at KNEC are protected by ensuring a sufficient budget is retained at the council to enhance proper supervision and invigilation for national and international credibility.

Over and above all, the union expects that the incoming CS will continue working on building a good working relationship between his ministry and the Teachers Service Commission, which has faced challenges with a clash of policies over the years. We therefore wish Mr Ogamba well as he faces the vetting team.