Education Reforms Among Mwai Kibaki’s Legacy

Education Reforms Among Mwai Kibaki’s Legacy.Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s late president, will be remembered for his contributions to education from kindergarten to university.Kibaki said just three months before leaving office in 2013 that he was proud of the education sector reforms he oversaw during his ten-year tenure.“We are particularly proud of the significant gains made in the provision of education for our people,” he said during the launch of the first Columbia Global Centre in Africa in January 2013.The statement encapsulated Kibaki’s efforts to improve the education sector through broad-based reforms that increased access to education for all.The most notable achievement of Kibaki’s first term was the implementation of Free Primary Education on January 6, 2003. During his second term, he made secondary education in public schools tuition-free.More than one million children were enrolled in primary schools within the first year of the program’s implementation. The emphasis on school uniforms was relaxed as the government provided learning stationary and text books, relieving parents of the burden.More than 80% of children were enrolled in primary schools. In 2007, enrollment increased from 5.9 million to 8.2 million during his first term. “This has seen the level of enrolment in primary schools increase from five million in 2003 to more than eight million pupils today (2013),” he said in 2013.1977: Mwai Kibaki, then finance and economic planning minister, joins Nyahururu school kids in a dance.Kibaki, he said, came up with two critical documents that streamlined nursery education at the primary level. “While university expansion was noble, it also diluted quality because most institutions continued to duplicate programs,” Prof Digolo said.Former Education Assistant Minister Dr Kilemi Mwiria stated at the time that free primary education became the impetus for expanding secondary education. “As a result, the introduction of subsidized secondary education in the form of day schools in virtually every sublocation,” Mwiria explained.Kenya has also implemented a free secondary schooling program in which the government pays tuition while parents cover the rest of the costs.To date, the government continues to provide a capitation per child of approximately Sh1,420 for each primary school learner and approximately Sh22,244 for each secondary school learner.ALSO READ:The Kenya Union of Post-Secondary Education Teachers (Kuppet) said Kibaki will be remembered for his passion for education.“Along with the expanded access to education, his administration implemented far-reaching reforms in school management and addressed the working conditions for teachers,” said Akello Misori, Kuppet secretary general. “Kuppet earned its respectable position during the Kibaki era.”Education Reforms Among Mwai Kibaki’s Legacy

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