The debate over whether education in Kenya should be fully devolved to counties has resurfaced with intensity. Proponents argue that devolution would bring education closer to the people, enabling counties to tailor schools and curricula to their unique needs. They claim that governors and county assemblies, being more accessible than the national government, would respond faster to challenges such as teacher shortages, infrastructural deficits or cultural considerations. On the surface, this argument appears persuasive. However, a deeper analysis reveals that devolving education to counties would be calamitous for learners, teachers and the nation at large.
Early childhood education is already devolved and the only good thing we hear about ECDE is the governor-branded feeding programs as if children are taken to school to eat. Tap to eat are just political programs that serve as cunduits for channeling corruption. Commercial ventures to enrich governors at the expense of Kenyan children.
Education is not just another public service like garbage collection or water provision. It is the single most important unifying force in a diverse nation such as Kenya. Through a national curriculum, a child in Mandera, Mombasa and Tharaka-Nithi can sit for the same examinations, compete on the same footing, and pursue higher education or employment opportunities without discrimination. Devolving education risks fragmenting this unity. Counties, each with their political interests and cultural biases, may attempt to tweak curricula to reflect local realities, thereby undermining national cohesion. The end result would be a fractured education system where mobility across counties becomes difficult and learners are denied equal opportunities.
Devolution has been in practice since 2013, and its track record in managing critical sectors is mixed at best. Health services, for instance, were devolved with the promise of efficiency. Instead, many counties have become synonymous with mismanagement, salary delays, procurement scandals and dilapidated facilities. If counties have struggled to manage hospitals, can they be trusted with the education of millions of children? Education requires long-term planning, efficient payroll systems for teachers, and consistent curriculum delivery – areas where counties have shown little capacity or integrity. Giving governors control over education budgets would open the floodgates to politicization, patronage, and corruption.
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Teachers are currently employed, deployed, and managed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). While the TSC is not without its flaws, it provides a central, standardized framework for professional management of teachers. If education were devolved, governors would naturally want to influence who gets employed in their counties. Recruitment would be based less on merit and more on political affiliation, ethnicity, or loyalty to county leadership. Worse still, teachers who refuse to dance to the tune of local politicians could be victimized or transferred unfairly. Such politicization would erode professionalism and demoralize teachers, undermining the quality of education.
Kenya already struggles with glaring inequalities in educational outcomes. Some counties boast high literacy rates, excellent infrastructure, and qualified teachers, while others lag far behind. If counties are left to manage education independently, the disparities will widen. Wealthier counties with stronger revenue bases could invest heavily in schools, while poorer counties would struggle to pay salaries, buy books, or maintain classrooms. This would deepen inequality and entrench regional marginalization, directly contradicting the constitutional promise of equity. A child’s future should not be determined by the accident of where they are born.
Education is a long-term investment. The fruits of reforms in curriculum, teacher training, or infrastructure take years, sometimes decades, to mature. Unfortunately, county politics operate on short five-year election cycles. Governors would naturally focus on projects that yield quick political dividends, such as constructing flashy school gates or launching half-baked scholarship schemes, rather than investing in the less glamorous but crucial aspects like teacher training, curriculum delivery, or systemic reforms. Education risks being reduced to a political trophy, with learners becoming pawns in local rivalries.
Kenya’s counties are largely aligned to ethnic majorities. If education is devolved, local leaders could introduce ethnic or cultural biases into curricula and school policies. History has shown us that education systems can easily be weaponized to promote tribal chauvinism or political propaganda. Instead of nurturing national identity, devolved education might reinforce ethnic divisions. The long-term effect would be disastrous: a generation of learners shaped by county-based ideological orientations rather than a shared national vision.
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Kenya’s education system, despite its challenges, has long been respected in Africa and beyond. Centralized oversight has allowed for the creation of national standards that ensure international recognition of Kenyan qualifications. Fragmentation under county governments would weaken quality assurance. Employers, universities, and international partners would begin to question the reliability of Kenyan qualifications. This would undermine the global competitiveness of Kenyan graduates, stunting both personal and national development.
Critics of centralization are correct to highlight the inefficiencies, bureaucracy, and disconnect of the national government and the TSC. However, the solution is not to devolve education but to reform its current structures. Strengthening accountability at the national level, ensuring equitable distribution of resources, enhancing stakeholder participation, and leveraging technology to monitor teacher attendance and student performance can address many challenges without fragmenting the system
Education is too critical a sector to be entrusted to the vagaries of county politics. Devolving it would expose learners to inequality, teachers to political manipulation, and the country to the risk of disunity. The vision of education in Kenya must remain national: one curriculum, one standard, one destiny. To tamper with this would be to gamble with the future of millions of children. If devolution in health has left hospitals in disarray, devolving education would not just be a mistake – it would be calamitous.
By Ashford Kimani.
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub County and serves as Dean of Studies.
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