A bill is in the offing to make the Ministry of Education a Teachers Service Commission (TSC) agent.
The Ministry of Education is seeking powers to fire school headteachers and principals who misuse school resources and demonstrate poor leadership.
The Education Ministry has in the past engaged in a power tussle with TSC over who has the control of schools and their resources.
Now the Ministry wants absolute powers to tame misuse of school capitation among other resources without going through the Commission.
Should the proposals sail through it will mean the Ministry sub county, county and regional directors will take over schools and can initiate sacking of a rogue headteacher or principal without seeking TSC intervention.
The Ministry says it lacks powers to discipline school heads who defy the Ministry circulars among other Ministry directives thus creating a crisis in education management.
The Ministry also wants to replace the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) with Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS).
The KEMIS will be different from NEMIS as it will give a learner a unique identifier from birth through birth certificate and which will be used throughout his/her education life from nursery to college and university.
KEMIS will solve the current bottlenecks experienced in the NEMIS system which is said to be working in parallel with the Competency Based Assessment (CBA) system managed by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and other systems.
The proposed changes are coming at a time where the Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has called for urgent reforms in the education system to better prepare graduates for the global job market.
Speaking at a high-level review meeting with the Ministry of Education leadership, Kindiki stressed the need for increased access, affordability and quality across all education levels.
The Presidential Working Party on Education Reform, which met in Karen, recommended strengthening the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) to keep pace with global trends in education and skills development.
The group also urged increased funding for Technical, Vocational, and University Education to ensure that all Kenyans can contribute effectively to national growth.
“The CBC must respond to future global trends in pedagogy and human capital development,” Kindiki said.
“We need to ensure that our education system produces graduates who are fit for purpose in a rapidly changing global market.”
Present at the meeting were Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Migos Ogamba, Permanent Secretaries Dr. Belio Kipsang (Basic Education), Dr. Beatrice Inyangala (Higher Education and Research) and Dr. Esther Muoria (TVET), among others.
The call for reform comes amid growing concerns over Kenya’s education system and its ability to equip students with the skills needed in the workforce.