Cabinet Secretary for Education Prof George Magoha on Wednesday the 9th of June 2021 hinted at a possible crackdown on schools that have not met the standards of registration.
CS Magoha said that some schools are operating without a license and have not followed the due process in their very existence.
“it is now time to right-size all the politically correct institutions that do not give our children the education they require,” CS Magoha instructed the quality assurance department.
“One of the things considered when registering schools is whether there is physical space for children to exercise. If there is none, do not register it, no matter who says otherwise,” added Prof George Magoha.
Magoha was at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) headquarters where he attended the launch of Physical Education (PE) and policy on sports for basic education.
The schools in question are struggling to carry on as normal with the education of children with poor or inadequate infrastructure and land. Some institutions do not have enough learners to meet the registration standards that the Ministry of Education has set.
“It is now time to be bold enough as we move to the period of election, and take back our authority to register schools through a larger committee at Jogoo House,” said Magoha.
CS Magoha said that some schools that have inadequate land could be exempted from the crackdown if they are bordering other schools with playfields.
If the crackdown actually does take shape, more than 3,000 schools could have to close down since they are run under the Alternative Providers of Basic Education and Training. They do not meet the registration criteria by a large margin.
In the year 2019, the Ministry of Education directed that schools that did not meet the safety guidelines close after the collapse of Precious Talent Academy in Dagoretti in Nairobi. Thousands of learners attending the targeted schools were affected.
This year’s crackdown will see schools with poor infrastructure and those that have gone beyond their capacities of enrolment without the government’s approval will undergo reassessment and they risk invalidation of their licenses.
The crackdown will also seek to find out schools that are run with teachers without the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) registration shut down.