- KESSHA has submitted a memorandum to Parliament calling for statutory funding guarantees and legal protection for principals under the Education Reform Bills, 2026.
- The association has proposed a predictable capitation framework with per-learner allocations reviewed every three years and separate financing for Senior School pathways.
- KESSHA has urged Parliament to establish a multi-agency implementation committee to monitor and report on the reforms’ rollout.
Kenya’s secondary school heads have told Parliament that six new education bills need firm funding guarantees and protection for principals.
The Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) has submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education. The submission responds to public participation on the Education Reform Bills, 2026, which touch governance, assessment, teacher preparation, qualifications, curriculum and tertiary financing.
KESSHA supports the broader goal of aligning education law with the Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework. However, the association insists that legislation must come with adequate financing, infrastructure, staffing and realistic timelines.
Capitation dominates KESSHA’s recommendations. The association wants a predictable, statutory financing framework, with budgeted funds translating into actual cash disbursed to schools on a published calendar.
Specifically, KESSHA proposes that per-learner allocations be reviewed at least every three years, or sooner if inflation demands it. A transparent formula would factor in food, utilities, transport, learning materials, information and communication technology (ICT), examinations, maintenance and other operating costs.
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Senior School pathways would receive separate financing under KESSHA’s model, covering laboratories, workshops, agriculture facilities, performing arts, sports equipment and specialised learning materials. Infrastructure development, the association argues, should never be funded from ordinary operational capitation.
The Basic Education Bill bars public schools from charging tuition, with penalties reportedly reaching Ksh1 million, three years’ imprisonment, or both, for violations.
KESSHA fully backs free and compulsory basic education. However, the association warns that the prohibition on charging learners must be matched by adequate government financing. Otherwise, principals risk being caught between complying with the law, feeding learners, paying suppliers and meeting other statutory obligations.
To address this, KESSHA has proposed a statutory principle: nobody should face personal liability for failing a statutory duty where inadequate funding, staffing or infrastructure caused that failure. The association also wants criminal sanctions to distinguish deliberate fraud from bona fide administrative decisions made in learners’ interests.
The Basic Education Bill gives legal recognition to comprehensive schools that combine primary and junior school education. KESSHA cautions that a larger institution must not simply mean more responsibilities for the same principal without additional administrative capacity.
The association has proposed an amendment requiring the Cabinet Secretary, working with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and stakeholders, to prescribe staffing, infrastructure and financing arrangements suited to each comprehensive school’s enrolment and location.
On governance, KESSHA wants clearer separation between the Board of Management’s policy oversight, the Head of Institution’s day-to-day management, TSC’s role in teacher employment, and the Ministry of Education’s policy function. Mandatory induction for board members is also recommended, covering education law, financial management and child protection.
The proposed Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) will make school data increasingly central to policy. KESSHA supports reliable national data but insists that schools should not be penalised for system failures, connectivity problems or inaccuracies originating from government databases.
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On assessment, the Kenya National Educational Assessments Council Bill would replace the existing Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) framework. KESSHA wants assessment to remain balanced between formative and summative approaches, with digital assessment adequately funded and special-needs learners fully accommodated.
Where schools serve as assessment centres, KESSHA argues that the Council should finance the necessary infrastructure, connectivity and security. The association further insists that a Head of Institution should not automatically bear responsibility for an assessment irregularity simply because it occurred within the school; due process and appeal rights must apply.
Throughout the memorandum, KESSHA stresses that the Pre-Service Education and In-Service Training Bill must not undermine TSC’s constitutional mandate. Teacher preparation, registration, employment, deployment and discipline should remain clearly distinguished functions, with TSC central to professional management.
The Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill proposes a new Tertiary Education Funding Authority. KESSHA welcomes efforts to widen access but wants stronger career guidance built into Senior School, since tertiary placement decisions increasingly begin before learners finish secondary school.
The bill reportedly allows loan recovery deductions of up to 25 per cent of a loanee’s emoluments under Clause 49(4). KESSHA is calling for transparency around eligibility, scholarships, loans, appeals, repayment terms and transition arrangements for existing beneficiaries.
Beyond specific bills, KESSHA wants Parliament to require the Ministry of Education to set up a multi-agency implementation committee. Its proposed membership spans the Ministry, TSC, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, the new Assessments Council, qualifications authorities, tertiary funding institutions, teacher unions, learner representatives, parents and special-needs organisations, alongside KESSHA itself.
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This committee would oversee how the reforms translate into practice and publish annual implementation reports, giving Parliament and the public a running check on progress after the bills pass.
KESSHA’s memorandum closes with ten priority messages to lawmakers. These include funding education before criminalising schools for lacking funds, ensuring capitation is adequate and timely, matching responsibility with authority, protecting principals acting in good faith, and preserving TSC’s constitutional mandate.
The association also insists that teacher training must precede curriculum implementation, that assessment reforms must be funded, and that school leaders must participate in policy implementation. No major reform, KESSHA maintains, should proceed without resources and clear transition arrangements.
KESSHA has asked the Departmental Committee on Education to incorporate its recommendations into the committee’s report to the National Assembly. The association says it remains available for further consultations as lawmakers finalise the six bills.
By Benedict Aoya
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