Is this the last of Magoha?
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha.
When Prof George Magoha became Education Cabinet Secretary on March 27, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta spelt out what he expected of him.
“I am now counting on you on the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools, good management of resources and in implementing the new curriculum,” the President said.
Prof Magoha left no doubt that it would not be business as usual in the Ministry of Education. He had just taken over from Amina Mohamed, whose stint at the ministry was cut short when she was moved to the Ministry of Sports.
It was an unpleasant experience, especially for workers who had been used to reporting late for duty or would not be found at their workstations by the new sheriff at Jogoo House.
The burly professor came with a reputation as one who shakes things up wherever he goes. He had done it at the University of Nairobi as the vice-chancellor and also as chair of the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec), where he had just been plucked from.
Prof Magoha’s vetting by members of the National Assembly was more of a formality. He is never modest when he speaks about his achievements.
While some of his colleagues in the Cabinet have quit joining politics and others scheme to join the next government after the August 9 General Election, Prof Magoha happens to be the only one who has repeatedly said he’s done.
Although his constant reminders that he only reports to “His Excellency Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta” sound sycophantic, his disdain for politics and politicians was best exemplified when his boss, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and other dignitaries danced the ‘Jerusalema’ dance at a function in Kisumu.
Prof Magoha did not even twitch a muscle. He stood still with his hands across his chest and his demeanour, although hidden by a face mask, told it all.
“This being my last examination, I would want to [tell] Kenyans that we developed the container system that has delivered credible results. Our qualifications are respected worldwide,” he said today in Mombasa.
“The incoming administration should know that no condition is permanent, but our children being in school is and therefore should not change the existing plans because they don’t like the person who initiated it.”
As he leaves, his tenure will be scrutinised, for he was in charge during a significant period in the history of education in Kenya. A lot has been happening in both basic and higher education and his tentacles have been all over, from launching ECDE classrooms to dissolving university councils he deemed errant.
Prof Magoha has extolled his efforts (while chair of Knec) to curb runaway cheating in national exams.
This was done in conjunction with his equally bullish Cabinet colleague, Dr Fred Matiang’i, who was then heading the Education docket. They roped in the ICT ministry and, once more, our examinations have regained respectability. The new administration must not drop the ball.
Prof Magoha has been a strong defender of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), whose implementation has drawn mixed reactions from stakeholders. Its opponents have trashed it but the professor, whose specialisation is in the medical field, never fails to state that “CBC is here to stay!”
One of the headaches Prof Magoha will hand over to his successor is how to successfully implement the CBC rollout in secondary school next year. Public schools are congested and facilities under immense strain even as data shows that enrolment is increasing every year. This has been attributed to the 100 per cent transition policy he was tasked to deliver.
He has been defensive of the outcome of the policy, saying he would rather have learners in congested classrooms than out of school. It is unlikely that the 10,000 classrooms that the CS aims to have added to secondary schools by the time he leaves will have much effect in resolving the problem.
There have been loud complaints from principals and MPs over how the classrooms were allocated, with a feeling that already established schools have been greater beneficiaries.
Prof Magoha has probably traversed the country more than all his Cabinet colleagues as he seems to believe in the dictum of ‘management by walking around’. However, his travels have also generated some negative news, as when last year he publicly berated a senior education official in Uasin Gishu County and called him “mjinga”.
As he leaves, education journalists will have different opinions of the man. There are days he will be friendly with them and others he will state from the beginning that he will not field any questions “even the one you are thinking about”.
Unlike his colleagues in the Cabinet who, at times, communicate through their verified social media accounts, Prof Magoha is not known to have one and only parody accounts in his name are active.
His Lands colleague Farida Karoney (a former journo) once organised, on his behalf, a media breakfast with him to help ease interactions. But when Prof Magoha rose to speak last, he reminded us that he always speaks his mind, like him or hate him.
It is unlikely he will join politics because voters need to be seduced, cajoled, and at times politicians do absurd things to please them, antics that are out of Prof Magoha’s depth.
Whatever he chooses to do after August, he will have left his mark, depending on who you ask and where they stand. There are those who cannot wait to see the last of him and others who will miss him when he leaves Jogoo House.
