Good morning,
It has now emerged that boarding primary and secondary schools are likely to be abolished as early as next year if proposals made by the presidential task force on Education are adopted and implemented.
The team has also recommended far-reaching changes that could whittle down the powers of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Should that work out, the Ministry of Education would be granted the mandate to manage day-to-day operations of schools such as disciplinary and quality standards while TSC will be left with recruitment, registration, employment, deployment and transfer of teachers.
However, since TSC was created under Article 237 (1) of the Constitution, with its core function being to recruit, register, deploy, transfer, discipline and terminate teachers’ contracts, reducing some of its powers might require amendments to the Constitution, which would require at least two-thirds of Members of Parliament approving such changes or subjecting them to a referendum.
Among other changes, the team led by Prof Raphael Munavu has also recommended that the Ministry of Education increase capitation to support free education.
Headteachers have in the past lamented that the amount of money allocated to every learner per year was not sufficient for the efficient running of schools, expansion programmes and other exigencies, such as paying salaries for non-teaching staff.
What do you think of the proposals made by the Presidential taskforce on Education?
The team has proposed the referendum route.
Meanwhile, here are news stories making headlines on Opera News today;
Sabina Chege Retains Her Deputy Minority Seat Despite The Chaotic Session In Parliament
The elected member of the National Assembly Sabina Chege has retained her position as deputy minority leader.
Speaking during Parliament proceedings on Thursday, Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said a court order has been issued an order to avoid her removal.
“Honorable members from the foregoing, my hands are tied with regard to the court order that has been brought to my attention. Until and unless further information is provided, that this order has been varied or set aside, the court order effectively suspends the decision by the minority party on the replacement of Sabina Chege as the deputy minority whip.”
Liked First Lady Rachel Ruto’s bicycle? It will cost you Sh560,000
It is not every day that you see a middle-aged woman whizzing by on a bicycle with more impressive specs than your average young cycling enthusiast.
But that was the case for anyone who rode or walked the 10.8km stretch from State House in Nairobi to the UN headquarters in Gigiri on Tuesday morning.
The middle-aged woman was none other than Keny’s First Lady Rachael Ruto who cycled with 30 other cyclists to the Cities for Road Safety(ACROS) meeting-a platform for capacity building, city exchange and technical advice on road safety.
Ex-State House official in Sh413m child support case
A woman has filed a child support case against a former State House official, alleging that he has abandoned his parental responsibilities over their three children.
The woman, identified in court papers as Ms AK, is demanding monthly maintenance of Sh2.7 million. She demands that the money should be paid by every fifth day of the month from June 5, 2023, to cater for the maintenance of their three children.