The Education Stakeholders Association of Kenya (ESAK) has opposed a proposal by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to devolve education functions to counties up to secondary school level.
“It makes no sense to see the Cabinet Secretary for Education going to Marsabit or Garissa just to inspect primary school structures. That work should be done by governors.” said Raila.
In a statement, ESAK National Secretary Ndung’u Wangenye warned that devolving education would compromise quality and standards. He said, “Education is the only equalizer of different people in the world. The curriculum and teaching standards must be equal to all regardless of their social or economical background.”
Wangenye said that if he understood Raila correctly, maybe he meant development of infrastructure like construction of classes, access roads, provision of clean water, repairs, maintenance and improvement.
However, he stressed that curriculum development, administration and teaching standards should be managed from a central point.
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He cautioned that devolving such functions could lead to counties creating their own curricula and employing unqualified and unregistered teachers, which he described as dangerous for the country.
He added that this is why Kenya needs a professional body to regulate standards for practicing teachers after registration by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
ESAK has previously called for the creation of an independent regulator for teachers, arguing that the Teachers Service Commission cannot objectively serve as both employer and regulator.
The association has also raised concerns over unqualified individuals entering classrooms using forged credentials, urging the establishment of an online system to verify teacher registration.
By Benedict Aoya
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