Grade Seven pupils in class at Mwiki Primary School in Nairobi.

📋 Breaking It Down

Education stakeholders have called for significant changes to the proposed Basic Education Bill, 2026, including restructuring the basic education system, strengthening parent representation, reviewing the management of learning materials and removing provisions that could allow schools to charge parents.

The Basic Education Bill, 2026 seeks to replace the existing legal framework governing basic education, covering school governance, financing, learner welfare, teacher management, quality assurance and education data.

In submissions to Parliament on the Basic Education Bill, 2026, and the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, stakeholders are seeking stronger legal powers for parents, reforms to the agency responsible for learning materials, entrenchment of the 2-6-3-3 education structure and a requirement for the government to fully finance basic education.

📌 What You Need to Know

Members of the National Assembly follow proceedings during a past session.

The Elimu Bora Working Group has questioned the decision to legislate before a new national education policy is approved, while also calling for the 2-6-3-3 education structure to be entrenched in law, clearer senior-school pathway placement criteria and stronger government obligations to finance basic education.

It argues that legislation should translate an approved policy into legal provisions and warns that passing the Bills before the policy is settled could lock in institutions, structures and funding models that may later have to be changed.

“As a matter of urgency, the Executive should bring the new Education Policy (draft sessional paper) to Parliament for consideration, so that discussion of the Bill is properly aligned to an approved national policy,” EBWG says.

The group has also called for the 2-6-3-3 structure (two years of pre-primary, six years of primary, three years of junior school and three years of senior school) to be expressly written into law.

It says leaving the structure to regulations could allow a future administration to change the schooling system without an Act of Parliament.

📰 Source: Nation Africa