Senate · Morning Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes. Order, hon. Senators, we have quorum now. Clerk, kindly call the first Order.

[(The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted the Speaker)]

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Cabinet Secretary, welcome to this session of the Senate. However, before we start giving responses, let me make the following communication.

[(Interruption of Questions)]

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence, in the Public Gallery this morning, of a visiting delegation from Mama Ngina University College in Gatundu, Kiambu County. The delegation comprises 10 students and one staff who are visiting the Senate for an academic exposition. Hon. Senators, on behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I extend a warm welcome to the delegation. I wish t…

[(Loud consultations)]

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I take this opportunity to join you and on behalf of my colleagues, welcome the students from Mama Ngina University College in Gatundu to the Senate of the Republic of Kenya. They have made the right choice to visit the “Upper” House, especially at a time when, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of education is appearing before the Senate to respond to issues on ed…

Very well. Cabinet Secretary, we have three questions; one from Sen. Wambua, Question No.006 and two from Senior Counsel (SC) , Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, Questions No.007 and No.008. Let us start with the question from the Senator for Nairobi City County, Sen. Edwin Sifuna. That question will be asked by his colleague, Sen. Wambua from Kitui County. Proceed.

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence, in the Public Gallery this morning, of visiting teachers and students from Vyulya Girls Secondary School in Mwala Constituency, Machakos County. The delegation comprises two teachers and 49 students who are visiting the Senate for an academic exposition. Hon. Senators, on behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I extend a warm welcome to…

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Yes, I have some interest. You know, when you mentioned Vyulya Girls. That is where my elder sister studied and I used to go and visit her. I got keen, saw the uniform and that is the same uniform my big sister used to wear. I take this opportunity to welcome Vyulya Girls from Machakos County to the Senate. Also, on behalf of your Senator, Sen. Agnes Kavindu, w…

Very well. Sen. Beatrice Ogola.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. As I rise to ask the question on behalf of Senator (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, Senior Counsel and MP, the Senator of Kisumu County, I also want to comment on the proposal that had been alleged to be made about merging of schools by the Cabinet Secretary. That must be considered widely against access to basic education and the fact that we have emerging issues, especial…

Sen. Beatrice, I want to give you advice. Next time, you get to the question. Question No.007

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you know I always do that. I beg to ask the following question-

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, proceed. The Cabinet Secretary for Education : Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg to reply as follows to the four aspects of the question. At the onset, I wish to confirm that the Ministry is not aware of any cases of misreporting or manipulation of the 2025 Kenya Junior Secondary School Education Assessment (KJSEA) results. The results, as released by the Kenya Na…

[(Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba)]

[[The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Wakili Sigei) in the Chair]]

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, thank you for your response to Question No.007, which was asked by Sen. Beatrice on behalf of Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda. I will allow Sen. Beatrice to ask any supplementary question.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Hon. Cabinet Secretary, we appreciate the effort you continue to make. However, most teachers still carry out assessment like the 8-4-4 system. The JSS teachers still need serious retooling to cope with CBE. My supplementary question to the Hon. Cabinet Secretary is this: there were learning areas in JSS that were not taught because there were no instructors…

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, I ask you to take note of the questions. I have only two requests here. I believe Sen. Nyutu and Sen. Onyonka have supplementary questions to the Cabinet Secretary. I will take all of them, so that you respond once to all the supplementary questions. Sen. Nyutu, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The reason CBE was conceived was to identify the competencies of learners. It was meant to give us an education system that departs from assessing learners only through examinations. I have followed the response by the Hon. Cabinet Secretary and have not seen any explanation on how we onboard the parent or caregiver in identifying the competency of a child. H…

Thank you, Sen. Joe. Lastly, Sen. Onyonka, the Floor is yours.

Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. With regard to the KJSEA, there is a supplementary question that I had asked on the question of the Human Resources audit of the number of teachers that we have in the republic. You say the process is taking place right now and I was going to ask whether you had prepared yourself to make sure that we cascade it down to all the county governments and all the wa…

Hon. CS, check the three questions. The Cabinet Secretary for Education : Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is just to confirm that the KNEC has free online training programmes for all the teachers. The curriculum design for Competency-Based Education (CBE) was done in 2018 and in that curriculum design the teachers were given the document that has a curriculum, the assessments and what they ar…

[(Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba)]

Sen. Nyutu, what is it that you want to say? The Hon. CS has responded.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. The matter that we are discussing in this particular session is of great national importance. The Cabinet Secretary has responded to my question and said that the matter of identifying a child's potential, strengths and weaknesses is a continuous matter right from Grade 1 to Grade 9. If it is a continuous matter, are we able to say in wh…

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, is that something that you can comment on? I know you had run us through the process of identification of a child's pathway from Grade 1 to Grade 9, but just in a quick response to what Sen. Joe Nyutu is seeking your clarification on, if you may say something. The Cabinet Secretary for Education : Yes, thank you for that Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Yes, you would get an …

[(Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba)]

Thank you Hon. Cabinet Secretary. Hon. Members, I take note of the time. We still have one last question. Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, now that you are present in the Chamber, I invite you to ask Question No.008.

Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Question No:008

Thank you Professor. Hon. Cabinet Secretary, it is your turn to respond to the questions. The Cabinet Secretary for Education : Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply to the four aspects of the Question as follows- The Government is committed to promoting extracurricular and talent development programmes as an integral pillar of holistic education and learner

[(Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba)]

Thank you, Hon. Cabinet Secretary for that particular response. Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, you have an opportunity to ask two supplementary questions. If you must, they should be related to the primary question.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I have no doubt that Cabinet Secretary Ogamba is one of the best performing Cabinet Secretaries. Since his tenure, we have seen a lot of improvement in the educational sector. I have two interconnected questions; Cabinet Secretary Ogamba, when are you releasing the capitation that was promised to Nyakach Girls High School? You can just tell us the timel…

[(Sen. Wakili Sigei)]

March, 11, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 42

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Cabinet Secretary, so far, you are doing so well. However, talents are not well nurtured due to the limited resources given to schools. For example, it is given Kshs100 per student and yet, it is the same 100 that the schools use to support the county and sub-county offices in the co-curriculum activities. It then means that the schools remain with nothing to…

Sen. Mungatana Dunson, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The Cabinet Secretary should tell the nation the official policy on resourcing of extracurricular activities. I am asking because every time we have school drama festivals, athletics or football competitions in Tana River County, we, without fail, get requests for fundraising for things such as fuel. What is the official policy on this? Is there resourcing fo…

Sen. Onyonka Richard, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I would like, first of all, to laugh at myself because initially, I thought that if I was to say how my brother, the Cabinet Secretary for Education has actually meticulously answered these questions, he has done well, somebody might wonder whether I am biased because I come from the same County as him. I believe and I am proud of the excellence of the Cabine…

Thank you. Lastly, let us have Sen. Mutinda Maurine.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I still appreciate the Waziri for this detailed report regarding Kisumu County. However, I have concerns about other counties. If I could narrow it down to even Nairobi City County,

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, before you respond, Prof. Tom Ojienda needs to correct the question in terms of reference to competition rather than infrastructure, so that you respond appropriately. Take note of the time, Prof. Tom Ojienda.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I was referring to the infrastructure support that the Cabinet Secretary promised Nyakach Girls High School. Cabinet Secretary, the second question was whether you have any plans to support Kisumu Boys High School that has a high population of students with infrastructure needs.

[(Applause)]

March, 11, 2026 SENATE DEBATES 44

[(Applause)]

Hon. Cabinet Secretary, thank you for your response. Hon. Members, I have got prior commitments by the Hon. Cabinet Secretary, and in terms of time, in the event that it spills over to one o'clock, I will extend the House for five minutes, so that the Cabinet Secretary can also give a commitment on when he will submit. Hon. Cabinet Secretary, these are your prior commitments on the questions tha…

Hon. Senators, having concluded the business for which I extended the House sitting pursuant to Standing Order No.34 (2) A, the Senate stands adjourned until later today, Wednesday, 11th March, 2026 at 2.30 p.m. The House rose at 1.06 p.m.