President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Prof Fatuma Chege as the Principal Secretary for the newly created State Department for the Implementation of Curriculum Reforms in the Ministry of Education.
Prof Chege’s nomination was on Tuesday approved by members of Parliament after significant opposition.
The National Assembly had shelved debate on her nomination after some reckoned there was no need to create a new department within the ministry.
Opposition leaders in the House, John Mbadi and Junet Mohammed expressed their dissatisfaction with the new department noting that the current Principal Secretary in the State Department of Basic Education Dr Julius Jwan who was formerly the Director of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) is capable of implementing the curriculum reforms.
They also stated that the current Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Sarah Ruto who previously served as KICD Chairperson has what it takes to implement competency-based curriculum.
But when the debate resumed on Tuesday, Education and Research Committee Chairperson Florence Mutua urged the House to approve Chege’s nomination stating that failure to do so would compromise the implementation of the competency-based curriculum.
Prof Chege led the taskforce on the transition from the 8-4-4 to the 2-6-3-3 education system.
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