Public participation on six proposed Education Reform Bills has entered its second week. The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education is holding forums in 31 counties, with the next sessions scheduled for Wajir and Turkana counties. In Turkana, the forum will be held at Turkana University College in Lodwar from 9am to 1pm. In Wajir, the committee will hold its sitting at Wajir Teachers’ Training College from 9am to 1pm.
The public participation exercise began on September 14 and will run until September 25. The committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, will engage residents and education stakeholders on the proposed laws and receive their views, concerns and recommendations. The committee has split into two teams to cover the counties and conclude the exercise before the deadline.
The six Bills include the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, which proposes the creation of the Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA) through the merger of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Universities Fund and TVET Fund. The Bill also seeks to expand the mandate of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and introduce an all-loan funding model for tertiary education.
The Basic Education Bill, 2026, seeks to repeal and replace the Basic Education Act, 2013. Among its proposed changes is the legalisation of the comprehensive school model and penalties for unauthorised school fees, while retaining the ban on corporal punishment. There are concerns from the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) that the public participation process is being rushed.
The Kenya National Educational Assessments Council Bill, 2026, proposes replacing the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) with a new body to oversee competency-based assessment frameworks. The Pre-Service Education and In-Service Training Bill, 2026, seeks to reorganise teacher training and continuous professional development.
Those unable to attend the physical meetings to air their views have until September 24 to submit written memoranda to the Clerk of the National Assembly. On Friday, the committee held public participation forums in Narok, Meru, Kajiado and Kirinyaga counties. The committee welcomes members of the public and education stakeholders to participate in the legislative process by sharing their views on the proposed reforms.
The other two Bills are the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to strengthen credential tracking and verification databases, and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes changes to curriculum review and the integration of special needs education under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
Key points
- The public participation exercise will run until September 25 in 31 selected counties.
- The proposed Bills aim to reform the education sector, including the introduction of an all-loan funding model for tertiary education.
- The committee has split into two teams to cover the counties and conclude the exercise before the deadline.
