Policy Framework for Education Training

PRESS RELEASE
(Issued under Article 35(3) of the Constitution)

A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
REFORMING EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN KENYA
The Ministry of Education Science and Technology has developed
Policy and legislative framework for Education and Training to realign
the human capital development needs of the country to the Constitution
and the Kenya Vision 2030.
A new policy and legislative framework on education and training
became necessary because the Constitution of Kenya 2010 introduced a
Bill of Rights which conferred a range of Rights to the Child that the
Education Act, Cap 211 had not taken care of. The Sessional Paper No.
1 of 2005 on Policy Framework on Education, Training and Research
did not also effectively provide the foundation necessary to develop the
skills and competencies that Kenya Vision 2030 require for its
realisation.
The policy also seeks to enable Kenya meet its international
commitments, in particular, the goals and objectives of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and the Education For All both of which
obligate contracting parties to spread the benefits of an all-inclusive
education to every citizen of the country.
The new policy defines the political, social and economic aspirations of
Kenyans by the year 2030 and beyond. Once implemented, the policy
should enable Kenya to effectively address changing socio-economic
and political needs and expectations of the citizens. It is also expected to
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equip the country to respond to the pressures that globalisation and
modernization of the world economy have occasioned.
The two ministries are developing a Sessional on a Policy Framework

on Education and Training: Reforming Education and Training in
Kenya to encapsulate the ideas and principles that should guide the
policies, programmes and initiatives that the Government, through the
Department of Education, ought to put in place in order to effectively
meet the emerging education needs and aspirations of the country.
The guiding philosophy of the reform efforts on Education is the need
for a stable and cohesive nation to provide a platform for socio-
economic development and the prosperity of the Nation.
The policy on education and training therefore envisage a curriculum
that successively develops the knowledge, skills, competencies, as well
as lifelong learning dispositions of its citizens to meet the human capital
needs of the country. The goal is to develop a repertoire of skills and
competencies necessary to achieve the objectives and goals embodied in
the Constitution, 2010 and Kenya Vision 2030.
Under the policy and the subsequent legislative framework, the
Government will provide free and compulsory basic education that is
equitable, qualitative and relevant to Kenya’s development goals; it will
be guided by the principle of universal access to education for every
child under 18, as enshrined in Article 53 of the Constitution. Every
child will be entitled to free and quality education, regardless of their
social condition, gender, regional background, and disabilities.
Embodied in the policy and legislative framework are new initiatives
that will transform the architecture of education and training needs and
aspirations of the Country.
The policy has mainstreamed Early Childhood Development (ECD) in
provision of basic education by the Government. In this regard, the
Government will provide free and compulsory Pre-Primary Education for all 4
to 5 year olds. This will further consolidate the gains registered by the Free
Primary and Free Day Secondary Education which have seen student
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enrolment in public primary schools increase from 5.9million pupils in 2003
to 9.4 million in 2012 while the enrolments in public secondary schools rose
from 1.1million in 2008 to 1.85million students in 2012.
A fundamental feature of this policy is that it will radically change the

design and delivery of the curriculum. Under the new model of
curriculum and its delivery, the Government will develop and implement
a balanced education curriculum aligned to the achievement and
attainment of the aspirations of Vision 2030. This will require the
development of teachers with a different mind-set; that focus on core
educational outcomes, based on content of the subject being taught, and
on developing a repertoire of skills and competencies required by all
learners and teachers. Besides teacher development, the policy puts
emphasis on subject mastery, pedagogical skills and upgrading of school
based quality assurance.
The principle underlying the new model of curriculum and its delivery is
the development of competencies and skills that will enable the learners
not only to understand the facts, and concepts in the curriculum; it
should also nurture analytical, critical and conceptual skills that define a
fast-rate education system that meet the goals of further education and
training as well as for the world of work. These skills are critical to the
competencies leading to the realisation of Vision 2030 and also to
developing a citizenry that has the ability to effectively participate in
public affairs of the country.
The policy framework on education and training also envisages an
education curriculum with parallel and complimentary tiers: academic,
vocational and technical curricular. The Government will accordingly
introduce a multi-track system to take care of the learning needs of all
these categories of education and provide a window for the progression
to higher education through any of the three tiers.
Learners will be able to follow tracks where they have proven
competencies given that they will be able to discover what they are
strong in. The Government will establish and strengthen existing
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education Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and to
ensure that the unique learning needs of children are adequately catered
for. In addition, the policy document explicates the strategies to be put in
place to identify, nurture and develop talents among learners. The main
objective of TVET will be to develop an effectively coordinated and
harmonized TVET system that is capable of producing quality skilled
human resource with the right attitudes and values required for growth
and prosperity of the various sectors of the economy.
The policy recognises the need to ensure that the high standards and
goals set for provision of education to meet Kenya’s aspirations are fully
met.
The Policy addresses various aspects of devolution e.g. it has r
established County Education Boards(CEBs) whose functions, among
others, will be to interpret and implement education and training policies
and coordinate all education programmes and initiatives at the County
level. Unlike the previous District Education Boards (DEBs), the
chairmanship of CEBs will be drawn from professional educationalists.
This constitutes a big shift from District Commissioners who chaired
DEBs. The composition of the CEBs will be highly inclusive as it
encompasses all key stakeholders in Education such as parents, teachers
and representatives from Board of Management (BOM).
The Government has also rebranded Board of Governors (BOGs) to
Boards of Management (BOM) with an expanded membership which
includes representatives from both gender and the disadvantaged. The
policy and the Bill have also, for the first time, recognised Parents
Teachers Association in the management of all educational and training
institutions and have been vested with clear, but distinct functions and
responsibilities from those of the Boards of Management.
Central to ensuring access, retention and provision of quality instruction
in education and training institution is a robust standards and quality
assurance system.
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Quality in Education is the degree to which education can be said to be
of high standard, satisfies basic learning needs, and enriches the lives of
learners and their overall experience of living.
It is this context that the policy strongly recommends the entrenchment
of an independent Education Standards and Quality Assurance
Commission in the envisaged Education Act. The commission will
supervise the teaching and learning process and ensure that quality
education is provided to all the learners.
Besides ensuring that learners are getting quality education and training,
the Commission will look into such issues as the effectiveness of
Government education policy implementation, strategic planning,
resource mobilization and the management of resources by Ministries
and institutions concerned with education and their management bodies.
For the first time, a school based standard and quality assurance has
been provided for. The establishment of school based quality assurance
will deal with deficiencies in curriculum delivery and remedy them
internally on a day today basis. The system of internal quality control
will complement the work of Education Standards and Quality
Assurance Commission.
The policy has recognised ICT as an essential tool for teaching and
learning. ICT will be integrated and promoted as a tool for facilitating
teaching, learning and research in education and training and not simply
as a subject to be taught and examined independent of its functionality.
The Policy and legislative framework has underscored the central role of
teachers in the teaching and learning process. Their training and
continuous professional development is pivotal to achieving the vision
and aspirations of the country.
The Government plans under the policy framework, to reform teacher
training programmes, staffing, growth and their progression once they
enter the teaching profession in public and private educational
institutions alike.
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A program on the teacher growth will be developed for the serving
teachers while the conditions for admission into Teacher Training
Colleges will be changed to ensure that the teacher training is in line
with the goals and objectives of the Constitution and Kenya Vision
2030.
Despite the gains in access and equity since the launch of FPE IN 2003
and FDSE in 2008, respectively, there still remain pockets within certain
Kenyan communities which are unreached for a host of reasons that
include: economic, cultural, social, geographical, environmental, and
political.
The constitution provides for free and compulsory basic education for
all. Under the overarching framework of the policy and legislative
framework, the Government undertakes to make provision for equitable,
quality education to marginalized, hard-to-reach and vulnerable Groups.
In line with this the Government plans to develop a coherent education
strategy and implementation plan to address the needs of marginalized,
hard-to-reach and vulnerable Groups to ensure access, retention and
quality completion rates and gender parity in marginalized region and
pockets of poverty in rural and urban areas.
The Government is working on partnership to finance education to

effectively address the problems of access, equity, quality and the
current heavy household financial burden in education.It plans to
develop and implement a policy framework that promotes private
investment across all levels of education. The aim will be to remove
constraints and to facilitate private sector participation in education
while maintaining quality standards, and to make private education more
attractive to private investors.
The policy will be founded on a National Qualification Framework
Agency that shall be responsible for advising government on the
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efficacy and performance of qualifications and accreditation of bodies
responsible for education and training curricula, examination,
assessment and awarding of certificates, diplomas and other academic or
professional awards.
The Authority shall work in conjunction with awarding bodies,
professional regulatory and competent authorities and other relevant
private sector regulators involved with qualifications to set appropriate
standards—standards that will ensure that bodies awarding certificates in
any academic and training area provide such education, training and
instruction that impart the competencies Kenya needs to meet the
aspirations that the Constitution and Vision 2030 embody.

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PRESS RELEASE

(Issued under Article 35(3) of the Constitution)

The two ministries are developing a Sessional on a Policy Framework

A fundamental feature of this policy is that it will radically change the

The Government is working on partnership to finance education to

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