Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha appeared before the Parliamentary Committee in parliament for vetting on Thursday, after his nomination by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Prof. Magoha assured the Members of Parliament of his focus and ability to handle the Education Ministry, which is fundamental to the government’s success plan. In the midst of it’s outlined target for the sector, is the 100
Magoha said there is no reason why the government’s projection should fail under his watch, “Through active and continuous consultation, by the grace of God, everything I’ve touched in the past, I have always succeeded, failure has never been in my vocabulary. So I don’t see a situation where we are not going to be able to ensure that by the time exams come every child in Kenya has a birth certificate and has joined NEMIS,” he said. Currently, there are complaints from parents and teachers that the delay in issuance of birth certificates may hinder the students’ registration process, and Magoha was quick to affirm that no child will be denied the chance to do the exam under his watch.
Magoha was also put to task on KNEC’s cancellation of exams, saying there was nothing wrong with the cancellation of the 2017 KCSE results of Ortum Boys High School in West Pokot and Chebuyusi High School in Kakamega County. He said there was nothing controversial and he went through all the scripts. The Education Ministry was later put on the spotlight after the High Court quashed KNEC’s decision to cancel the results of Chebuyusi High School.
On his leadership style, the former University of Nairobi VC admitted that he may not agree with everyone on certain issues, but that he’ll set out with the objective he has, if given the chance to serve as Education CS, and that he’ll have to empower the people in his team first, the same way he empowered students and unions at UoN, with good success. If approved by parliament, Magoha will replace Amb. Amina Mohamed, who was moved to the Sports,Youth and Heritage docket.