Prof Jacob Kaimenyi tapped to head education docket

Prof Kaimenyi, a dentist by profession, walks into a familiar territory in the education docket having taught at the University of Nairobi since 1985.

But the 61 year-old father of five will have his plate full once he takes office, if cleared by Parliament. He will be expected to reform Kenya’s education system with a bias for technology colleges, which are planned for every county, to feed the labour market with craftsmen and engineers to boost production of locally manufactured goods.

(Read: Government plans technical colleges for each county)

This will be a departure from the trend set by his predecessor Mwai Kibaki of converting mid- tier colleges to universities—which has led to an increase in the number of graduates with liberal arts degrees in a job market that is already saturated.

The drive for graduates with a bias for technology is behind the bid by the new administration to introduce free laptops for Standard One pupils, which is one of the flagship promises of the Jubilee Coalition made on the Campaign trail.

But Prof Kaimenyi will be faced with a host of challenges that the education sector has battling over the last decade as well as new ones under the new administration.

His biggest task will be securing a larger education budget in an environment where the state is faced with rising expenditure book amid below target revenues. The new money will help hire more teachers, roll out free milk to primary school pupils and building more schools.

But the quest to channel the bulk of the funding to wellbeing of student and development of institutions will be derailed by the combative by Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) demands for higher pay. The union has sparked a series of strikes and has warned it’s not about to bow down.