I am fully aware that I may be the least qualified person, by formal position or proximity, to comment on the leadership of the Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA). I do so not out of malice, rivalry, or personal interest, but from a deep and sincere desire to see private school proprietors enjoy the kind of leadership they deserve—leadership that is principled, informed, courageous, and responsive to the realities of education in Kenya today. One does not need a title to recognise exemplary leadership. Equally, one does not need membership to feel the effects of bad leadership. Poor leadership leaves a residue. It cannot be concealed. It permeates institutions and sectors alike.
“Everything rises and falls on leadership,” John C. Maxwell’s famous observation, finds a sobering and uncomfortable expression in the current state of KPSA. Once envisioned as a strong, principled umbrella body to unite private schools, influence education policy, protect standards, and provide moral and professional leadership, KPSA today presents the picture of an organisation that has lost relevance, credibility, and direction. Its near-moribund condition is not accidental. It is the direct and predictable consequence of leadership failure.
At its inception, KPSA carried enormous promise. Private schools in Kenya play a significant role in the delivery of education, innovation, access, and parental choice. They require a credible association to articulate their interests, engage government constructively, interpret policy accurately, and uphold ethical standards. Such an association should provide thought leadership on curriculum reforms, assessment changes, teacher professionalism, learner welfare, and institutional governance. Where leadership is visionary and competent, an association becomes a unifying force. Where leadership is weak, self-serving, or intellectually hollow, stagnation is inevitable.
The current crop of KPSA leaders has presided over a steady erosion of the association’s influence and authority. Nowhere has this been more evident than during the most consequential reform in Kenya’s education history—the transition to Competency-Based Education (CBE). At a time when private schools desperately needed clarity, guidance, and sober interpretation of policy, KPSA was largely silent, confused, or reactionary. When members needed structured engagement on KNEC reforms such as KPSEA and KJSEA, the association offered little more than populist rhetoric or complete disengagement. Leadership abdicated its responsibility as both interpreter of policy and custodian of professional standards.
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Even more troubling has been the moral failure of leadership. KPSA has struggled to rise above internal politics, personality cults, and narrow commercial interests. Instead of championing the learner, the teacher, and the integrity of education, leadership has often appeared preoccupied with positions, titles, and proximity to power. This has alienated serious school leaders who expect substance, advocacy, and intellectual rigour from their association. An organisation that cannot command respect from its own constituency cannot credibly influence national discourse.
The moribund state of KPSA is also evident in its inability—or unwillingness—to hold private schools accountable. A credible association does not merely defend its members; it disciplines them. It sets ethical boundaries, confronts misconduct, and protects the integrity of the sector. Yet as some private schools openly breach assessment regulations, rank learners contrary to policy, commercialise examinations, or misrepresent results to parents, KPSA leadership has remained conspicuously quiet. Silence in the face of malpractice is not neutrality; it is complicity. When leadership lacks the courage to correct its own, the entire sector loses moral authority.
Equally telling is KPSA’s absence from serious policy engagement. Major national conversations are ongoing—on Senior School placement, learning pathways, assessment validity, teacher deployment, and learner transition under CBE—yet KPSA is rarely cited as a thought leader. This absence is not imposed externally; it is self-inflicted. Leadership that lacks intellectual preparation, research grounding, and policy fluency cannot occupy national space. As Maxwell reminds us, leadership determines whether an organisation rises to relevance or falls into obscurity.
The consequences of this leadership failure are profound. Private schools are increasingly fragmented, isolated, and vulnerable. Without a strong association, individual schools face regulatory challenges on their own. Without credible representation, private schools are perceived as opportunistic rather than as partners in national development. Without moral leadership, the sector risks being defined by its worst actors rather than its best innovations. Everything falls when leadership fails.
It must be stated clearly: the decline of KPSA is not a verdict on private schools themselves. Kenya has outstanding private school leaders—principled, competent, and visionary individuals who understand education as a public good, even when delivered privately. The tragedy is that many such leaders are either disengaged, marginalised, or unwilling to associate with an organisation whose leadership does not reflect their values. When good people withdraw, leadership vacuums are filled by mediocrity, and decline accelerates.
Maxwell’s assertion also serves as a warning. Organisations do not collapse overnight; they wither gradually when leadership refuses to renew itself. KPSA’s current state reflects leaders who have failed to read the times, have been unable to learn, have failed to listen, and have failed to lead beyond personal comfort zones. Without deliberate leadership renewal, anchored in integrity, competence, and service, the association will continue its drift into irrelevance.
Ultimately, the story of KPSA affirms Maxwell’s timeless truth. Structures, constitutions and membership numbers cannot save an organisation. Only leadership can. If KPSA is to rise again, it will require leaders willing to search their consciences and do the honourable thing. Sometimes, the highest form of leadership is knowing when to step aside so that an institution can live. Until then, KPSA’s moribund condition will remain a stark reminder that in education, as in all institutions, everything indeed rises and falls on leadership.
By Ashford Kimani
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub-county and serves as Dean of Studies.
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