Dear MPs, who will look out for the interests of students and parents?

The Kenya National Union of Teachers has threatened to call a strike should the Cabinet Secretary for Education fail to degazette the Basic Education Regulations, 2015.

A section of MPs have accused Prof Jacob Kaimenyi of antagonising the teaching fraternity by developing policies that offend teachers.

As a parent, I find the position that Parliament has taken intriguing. What the legislators are saying is that teachers should never be offended.

Parliament is sending out a dangerous message: that the Cabinet secretary should not address the urgent policy problems and issues that have undermined the ability of the government to improve quality of education and that the Ministry of Education should not try to streamline the faulty policy and governance framework in basic education institutions.

The fact of the matter is that education needs shock therapy. The policies that Prof Kaimenyi is undertaking are anchored in Prof Douglas Odhiambo’s task force report of 2010. The task force was established to align the education sector with the new Constitution and Vision 2030.

WILL OF PARLIAMENT

In issuing the Basic Education Regulations, 2015, the guidelines on secondary school fees, and banning ranking of schools and students in national examinations, Prof Kaimenyi is simply implementing the will of Parliament, as embodied in the Basic Education Act, 2013, and the policy framework on education.

Parliament does not have time to deal with the detailed rules necessary to implement laws, therefore subsidiary legislation fulfils this need. This is also necessary because some matters require the special skills and knowledge of experts in the particular area.

Often, the Legislature passes statutes that set out broad outlines and principles, then delegates authority to an executive branch official to issue delegated legislation that fleshes out the details and provides procedures for implementing the statute.

What Prof Kaimenyi is doing is no different from what his colleagues in other ministries do. The only difference is that the new regulations threaten entrenched interests that are now hiding behind the alleged interests of ordinary teachers.

The best recourse for any aggrieved party in this case is a court of law. The teachers’ unions should petition the High Court to arbitrate the matter.

As a parent, I urge Parliament to resist the temptation to serve the interests of the teachers’ unions. The interest of parents, guardians, and children too need protection.

JOHN TSINJE. [email protected]