Magoha Sued In New CBC Implementation Battle.
George Magoha, Cabinet Secretary for Education, has been sued for neglecting to appoint a team to oversee the country’s educational quality.
The case filed by Dr. Chris Galgalo, chair of the Education and Quality Assurance Council (ESQAC), opens a new front in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) battle.
Dr. Galgalo claims in his application that the new curriculum was implemented without testing and that Kenya’s education system lacks quality assurance because the CS has yet to appoint a team to do so.
The case lifts yet another veil on the implementation of CBC, with the official claiming that schoolchildren are learning without the education system’s checks and balances.
He believes that simply having access to education is insufficient, and that the government should ensure that students have access to qualified teachers and educational materials.
According to court documents filed before High Court Judge Anthony Mrima, Dr Galgalo was appointed to lead SQAC in 2019 by former Education Minister Jacob Kaimenyi. His term is set to expire in 2023.
The appointment, he claims, was communicated to the Principal Secretary for Early Learning and Basic Education.
The judge heard that the appointment had not been varied or revoked as of yet. He claims, however, that he holds an office that has not been operational.
Dr Galgalo claims he wrote to Prof Magoha seeking his assistance in charting the agency’s future course but never received a response.
According to his lawyer, Dr. Galgalo wrote to the Head of Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, about the matter but did not receive a response.
“The first respondent (Magoha) has unlawfully failed to give effect to the statutory intendment of an operational and functional ESQAC in Kenya to the detriment of not only Kenyans, but the petitioner as well and in particular in breach of his legitimate expectation,” argued Kinyanjui.
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According to Dr. Galgalo, subjecting children to an education system with no quality assurance invalidates the time spent learning.
Dr Galgalo is now requesting that the court order Prof Magoha to appoint a team to work under him. He also wants the court to order the CS to pay him his back pay since his appointment.
“All children are entitled to access quality education which by law is envisaged to be overseen by ESQAC and quality assurance officers,” said Dr Galgalo.
Magoha Sued In New CBC Implementation Battle
