48th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) National Conference kicks off in Mombasa with focus on Senior School Pathways under Competency-Based Education (CBE).
The 48th Annual National Conference of the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) has officially opened at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Secondary School in Mombasa County. The five-day conference running from 23 to 27 June 2025 has brought together over 7,000 secondary school heads and 1,000 education stakeholders from across the country.
Themed “Embracing Pathways in Senior School under the Competency-Based Education (CBE)”, the conference seeks to advance dialogue on senior secondary pathways and position senior school education as a key component of Kenya’s education reform agenda.
KESSHA National Chairperson Willy Kuria said the 2025 conference will facilitate stakeholder engagement on core policy issues around the transition to senior school under the CBE framework. “We want to align all stakeholders with the transition to senior school under CBE. We want to ensure the implementation is well supported through sound policies, adequate funding and strong institutional frameworks,” Kuria noted.
Topics for discussion will include sustainable funding of education, institutional accountability mechanisms and the strategic role of teachers’ unions in improving educational quality and learning outcomes.
The conference will be officially opened on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 by the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Professor Kithure Kindiki.
Speakers at the conference include:
- Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogambo
- Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Bare Duale
- Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, John Badi
- Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Professor Julius Bitok
- TSC officials
- Office of the Auditor General officials
- KNUT and KUPPET officials
- Mombasa County Governor, Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir
The conference will close on Friday, June 27, 2025 with a speech by Cabinet Secretary for Education, Julius Migos Ogambo.In a pre-conference briefing, KCB’s Head of Sustainability, Erick Naivasha said the Bank is committed to the education sector. “We have sponsored over 5,000 students through our sponsorship programmes to ensure students from disadvantaged backgrounds stay in school and complete their education,” Naivasha noted.
He also mentioned the Bank’s Wezesha programme which trains students transitioning from secondary education to the job market. Besides financing, KCB has also committed to supporting a national clean energy transition in schools. Naivasha mentioned the Bank’s Clean Energy in Schools initiative which promotes the adoption of solar power, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and biogas in place of firewood and fossil fuel use.
“Over 90% of schools still use firewood and fossil fuels for cooking and electricity. Our Clean Energy in Schools initiative promotes solar power, LPG, biogas and other sustainable solutions,” Naivasha said.
He warned that current practices by schools are cutting down over 10 million trees every year. “We must act fast to transition schools to cleaner, cost effective and healthier energy sources. It’s not just a sustainability issue; it’s a health, cost and climate issue,” he said.
The conference continues through the week with plenary sessions, policy briefings and exhibitions by government agencies, education institutions and private sector partners.
48th KESSHA National Conference kicks off in Mombasa with focus on Senior School Pathways under CBE.
