Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has halted the implementation of the presidential working group pending Parliament approval.

In a statement to Parliament, Machogu said the rollout will now await approval from Parliament.

Machigu’s statement was read by National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro.

“The implementation of the proposed reforms will not take effect until the legislation process through to this House will be complete,” Osoro said.

Last week MPs accused the ministry of usurping the Parliament’s powers by implementing the Prof. Raphael Manavu-led Presidential task force without getting approval from the House.

According to MPs, Parliament must ratify the proposals as either regulations or substantial law before implementation.

Rising on a point of order, Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba brought the Speaker’s attention to a number of the recommendations that he argued breached a number of legislations as well as the constitutional provisions.

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He urged Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to make a ruling on the ongoing implementation even before Parliament formally ratifies the proposals.

“We want your direction so that people do not change the law or the Constitution through the backdoor,” Omboko charged.

Among the recommendations that were being rolled out is the new grading system, the new funding model as well as the rationalisation of new learning areas.

The government is also in the process of domiciling Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from secondary schools to primary schools as was recommended by the Munavu-led task force.

A number of lawmakers supported Omboko, demanding that the Speaker gives direction on the matter.

Ainabkoi MP William Chepkonga said the recommendations and the move to implement the same before the House gives a stamp of approval amounts to taking over the law-making function of Parliament.

“There is no one in this country that can make law however high or mighty they think they are,” Chepkonga said.

“We don’t expect any other person who has not been elected to make law,that is contravention of the Constitution. This is a matter that you should issue a statement from your chair, the implementations should stop.”

Rarieda MP Otiende Omollo berated the Education ministry for overstepping its mandate, saying such proposals can only be implemented after Parliament or the courts ascertain their legality.

“I am aware that not only is it a policy document that has not been crystallised into law, but they have purported to appoint an implementation committee which is already implementing it, it’s not even considered if Parliament will accept it into law or not,” he said.

Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah undertook to escalate the matter to Education CS Ezekiel Machogu to have him stop implementation of recommendations that requires concurrence with Parliament.

“Nobody including Cabinet secretaries have the power to make the law, not even a presidential working group. The best they can do is to make recommendations that if they are adopted by this House they can be implemented,” the Kikuyu MP said.

The same position was taken by Wetang’ula, who said only Parliament has the mandate to make laws in the country.

“Nobody and I repeat nobody including Cabinet secretaries can purport to make law or do things that can be interpreted that they have made law, because they have no capacity to make law,” he said.

Parliament on Wednesday stopped the rollout of President William Ruto’s Education reforms insisting that implementation of recommendations before MPs’ approval amounts to usurping the House powers.

The move could throw the education sector into untold confusion as implementations of some of the recommendations of the task force were already being rolled out.

Prof Raphael Munavu led the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform.

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The task force made radical proposals that completely alters the manner the education sector is being run in the country.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly put brakes on the rollout of the recommendations, saying Parliament was skipped before the implementation.

According to MPs, Parliament must ratify the proposals as either regulations or substantial law before implementation.

Rising on a point of order, Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba brought the Speaker’s attention to a number of the recommendations that he argued breached a number of legislations as well as the constitutional provisions.

He urged Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to make a ruling on the ongoing implementation even before Parliament formally ratifies the proposals.

“We want your direction so that people do not change the law or the Constitution through the backdoor,” Omboko charged.

Among the recommendations that were being rolled out is the new grading system, the new funding model as well as the rationalisation of new learning areas.

The government is also in the process of domiciling Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from secondary schools to primary schools as was recommended by the Munavu-led task force.

A number of lawmakers supported Omboko, demanding that the Speaker gives direction on the matter.

Ainabkoi MP William Chepkonga said the recommendations and the move to implement the same before the House gives a stamp of approval amounts to taking over the law-making function of Parliament.

“There is no one in this country that can make law however high or mighty they think they are,” Chepkonga said.

“We don’t expect any other person who has not been elected to make law,that is contravention of the Constitution. This is a matter that you should issue a statement from your chair, the implementations should stop.”

Rarieda MP Otiende Omollo berated the Education ministry for overstepping its mandate, saying such proposals can only be implemented after Parliament or the courts ascertain their legality.

“I am aware that not only is it a policy document that has not been crystallised into law, but they have purported to appoint an implementation committee which is already implementing it, it’s not even considered if Parliament will accept it into law or not,” he said.

Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah undertook to escalate the matter to Education CS Ezekiel Machogu to have him stop implementation of recommendations that requires concurrence with Parliament.

“Nobody including Cabinet secretaries have the power to make the law, not even a presidential working group. The best they can do is to make recommendations that if they are adopted by this House they can be implemented,” the Kikuyu MP said.

The same position was taken by Wetang’ula, who said only Parliament has the mandate to make laws in the country.

“Nobody and I repeat nobody including Cabinet secretaries can purport to make law or do things that can be interpreted that they have made law, because they have no capacity to make law,” he said.

The Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) has suggested a mandatory one-year retooling programme for pre-service training graduates, followed by a year-long internship before formal registration as teachers.

The current Grade 7 teachers were retooled from March 13 to 19, 2023 on a face-to-face basis in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and select venues in the country.

The taskforce, led by Prof. Raphael Munavu, noted that the recommendation is timely seeing that the country’s education system is transiting from the 8-4-4 system to the new Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

PWPER noted that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had already taken action, retooling over 229,000 primary and 55,125 Junior Secondary School(JSS) teachers, covering 82% of the workforce.

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In addition, it has also introduced remote learning to adapt to the changing educational landscape through technological integration which is crucial for effective CBC delivery.

The taskforce observed that the transformation aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 4 which emphasizes inclusive and equitable education.

Additionally, TSC has introduced Teacher Professional Development (TPD) courses to enhance pedagogical and management skills which ensure that teachers stay tech-savvy.

PWPER also cited mobile applications such as NABU, which offers multilingual children’s books and aligns perfectly with CBC’s goals, providing tools and assessments to enhance critical thinking.

President William Ruto has issued a directive to the Ministry of Education to implement education reforms within the given timeframe.

This is after the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms submitted its report to the President at the State House on Tuesday.

Some of the recommendations include the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) reducing learning areas in Lower Primary from 9 to 7, Upper Primary from 12 to 8, Junior Schools from 14 to 9, Pre-Primary to have 5 and Senior Schools have 7.

The committee wants the school capitation to be increased by Sh 1,170 for Pre-Primary, Double capitation to Sh2,238 for Primary level, Junior Schools Sh 15,043 and Sh22,527 for Senior Schools (Day);.

Others include Sh19,800 for Special Needs Institutions (SNE) (Day) and Sh38,280 for SNE (Boarding).

They recommended that the capitation and grants be reviewed every three years.

The committee wants the Ministry of Education to adopt a Comprehensive School system (PP1 — Grade 9) comprising Pre-Primary, Primary school and Junior School managed as one institution.

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They also recommended dropping the term “Secondary” from Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools.

PWPER wants the coordination of bursaries and scholarships to be under the Kenya Basic Education Bursaries and Scholarship Council.

According to the report, they want an introduction of a mandatory three months community service program for Senior School graduates before joining Tertiary institutions.

They want the ministry to implement nine months of mandatory community service after completing Tertiary education and issue a certificate of compliance as proof before entering the workforce.

“Discontinue the current categorization of public Secondary schools (national, extra-county, county, sub-county) and adopt a categorization based on career pathways for Senior Schools,” the report read.

PWPER recommended the implementation of a one-year mandatory retooling program for pre-service training graduates to be CBC-compliant and a one-year internship before registration as teachers.

Other recommendations include adopting a sustainable financing model for University education that combines grants/scholarships, loans and household contributions for differentiated categories of students.

The committee asked that the ministry enact the proposed Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill to amalgamate HELB, UFB, and TVET Fund for higher education funding efficiency.

They also want the institutionalized linkages of TVETs with industries and government projects and develop pathways for continuity between TVETs and Universities.

“Develop guidelines for accelerated education programs for marginalized groups, learners with special needs, and adult and continuing education to enhance equitable access and also develop internal capacity of KNEC to print national assessments,” the statement read.

The education reforms task force, lead by professor Raphael Munavu, held a closed-door meeting at the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) on Tuesday 7 June 2023 to validate their findings, raising concern over the public process.

“The party has been working since its inception to achieve its Terms of Reference as stipulated in the Gazette Notice. In this regard, an open forum has been organized to present the draft report to stakeholders for validation,” reads the invite by Prof Raphael Munavu.

Confidential source in the meeting disclosed that the team, in its interim report recommended trimming of powers of the teachers’ employer, harmonising quality assurance and reducing subjects for Junior Secondary learners.

Creation of TVET Commission that would be responsible for all human resource functions for staff in middle-level colleges was also proposed in addition to reviewing of capitation disbursement plan.

Team also wants TSC to employ nursery teachers, a function presently performed by county governments.

It however emerged that the stakeholders were not handed the interim report and only benefited from presentations made in a rush.

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The key proposals however show that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) may lose some powers if the recommendations of the education reforms committee are adopted in their final report.

TSC is created under Article 237 (1) of the constitution commission with its core function being to recruit, register, employ, deploy, transfer, discipline and terminate teachers’ contracts.

The task force however wants a separate body created and bestowed with the functions of regulation of the teaching profession.

This means that TSC would only perform human resource functions and would relinquish regulatory powers to a separate entity.

Meeting heard that an amendment through the act of Parliament or referendum would be required to effect the changes to TSC powers.

The Standard has also established that the Quality Assurance and Standards (QAS) functions presently being performed by TSC would be harmonised and centralised.

Ministry of Education also performs similar functions and to avoid duplication, task force members heard that TSC may also lose this mandate in new reforms.

TSC and the Ministry of Education have been at loggerheads over these functions as each issued different directives at County levels.

The task force now wants the government to ensure QAS is domiciled at the ministry and has exclusive authority to oversee the functions in all basic education institutions.

“Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards should be conferred with operational powers in law to enable it enforce laws, policies, guidelines of the ministry and any other Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) that pertain to basic education institutions,” the meeting heard.

The meeting also heard of proposals to review of the National Education Quality Assurance and Standards Framework (NEQASF), to consolidate and publish widely prescribed education standards for easy access by all stakeholders.

Sources in the meeting disclosed that a move to lower entry grade to teachers training colleges was also discussed and moving forward, some reforms proposed to streamline training.

Reforms team propose TSCs role to be limited to recruiting and promoting. The team has also supported mergers of universities and strengthening of middle level colleges

It has been established that these are some of the recommendations made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms in its second interim report.

Sources in the team revealed that the second interim report, which addressed teachers training, powers of Teachers Service Commission (TSC), middle level colleges and universities will be presented to the president soon.

Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and top ministry officials met the working party members on Monday at the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA).

Insiders said that long discussions went into how to check the powers of TSC to ensure its command is limited to only recruiting and promoting teachers.

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The team also wants the entry grade to teachers training colleges reviewed to accommodate more students after it emerged that the stringent admission rules have locked out more students.

It also supports mergers of universities, setting up of centers of excellence and strengthening middle level training institutions that they recommend should be done in each county.

“The issue of pending debts was a major debate and it emerged that once this is sorted out the institutions of higher learning would be back on their feet.

“It actually emerged that there is need to set up more technical training institutions and not expanding existing universities,” said the source.

“The issue of merging universities was ratified but most importantly, creation of centres of excellence where specific universities are known for various products because a university cannot replicate itself over and over”

But what will elicit debate is the proposal by the working party to check TSC powers. Insiders in the task force said the powers wielded by TSC both as an employer and regulator was a deep conversation by members.

“Some of these were common sense proposals because it is only teachers who are regulated by their employer. For all other professions, there is clear distinction between employer and regulator, “said a source.

However, the changes may require a referendum as TSC is a constitutional commission.

“The issue of a referendum was also discussed because TSC is a constitutional commission but there will be conversations on whether parliament may be roped into the matter,” said the source.

TSC is established under Article 237(1) of the Constitution as a constitutional Commission with primary functions being to register recruit and employ registered teachers.

TSC is also empowered to assign teachers for service in any public school or institution, promote, trans-fer teachers, discipline and terminate their employment.

This constitutional role effectively gives the TSC exclusive mandate over teachers with little or no ministry interference.

Last year, in a report of the National Assembly Education Committee ta-bled in the House on March 3,2022 recommend enactment of a new law and proposed changes to Article 237 of the Constitution and the TSC Act to solve the conflict of interest of the commission being a regulator and an employer.

The report released last year just before legislators went for a two-week recess observed that TSC holds the constitutional and statutory mandate of the employer and regulator with powers conferred by Article 237 of the Constitution and TSC Act.

“There is need to establish a separate regulatory agency to remedy conflict of interest,” reads the report by MPs.

The report followed a petition ta-bled on October 5,2021 by Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba on behalf of representatives of Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet).

Speaking during release of KCPE results, Machogu said: “We are looking to the Presidential Working Party to make recommendations about laws, policies and regulations in our sector. We have seen a number of attempts to amend some of the existing laws, policies and regulations, a few of which are currently pending before the National Assembly,” he said.

Machogu said he will consult with all stakeholders with a view to driving the reform processes to a decisive and logical conclusion based on recommendations of the Working Party.

“We will appeal on the respective committees of the National Assembly and the Senate to be patient with us as we will regularly knock on their doors as we seek these legal and policy re-forms,”he said.

On admissions to TTCs, the task force heard that the institutions have not taken in more students because of the stringent entry requirements.