The Structure of The Ministry of Education

CABINET SECRETARY
Cabinet Secretary In old constitution we used to term them as ministers but according to the new
constitution they are called cabinet secretaries. Cabinet secretary is the overall leader of the
ministry of education in Kenya. He /she heads all departments of education in the country.
The staff that works in the office of the cabinet secretary.
• Principal Secretary –1 personnel
• Personal assistant (formerly known as assistant minister) -1 personnel
• Personal secretary –1 personnel
• Principal driver
They are integral part of the cabinet secretary because they help him/her undertake and run the
office effectively . Under the office of the cabinet secretary the staff should total up to eleven.
The cabinet secretary is appointed by the president and approved by the national assembly.
Role of Cabinet Secretary in the Management of Educational Institutions in Kenya
The Cabinet Secretary plays a crucial role in the management of educational institutions in
Kenya. Here are some key responsibilities and functions of the Cabinet Secretary in this regard:
Policy Formulation and Implementation: The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for formulating
and implementing policies related to education in Kenya. This includes developing strategies,
guidelines, and frameworks for the effective management of educational institutions.
Budgeting and Resource Allocation: The Cabinet Secretary is involved in the budgeting process
for the education sector. They allocate resources to educational institutions based on their needs
and priorities. This ensures that institutions have the necessary funds to operate efficiently.
Curriculum Development: The Cabinet Secretary oversees the development and review of the
national curriculum. They ensure that the curriculum is relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with
national goals and international standards. This helps to provide quality education to students.
Quality Assurance: The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for ensuring the quality of education in
Kenya. They establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the performance of
educational institutions. This includes conducting inspections, assessments, and audits to
maintain and improve the quality of education.
Teacher Management: The Cabinet Secretary is involved in the recruitment, training, and
professional development of teachers. They establish policies and guidelines for teacher
certification, promotion, and discipline. This helps to ensure that qualified and competent
teachers are available in educational institutions.
Infrastructure Development: The Cabinet Secretary oversees the planning and development of
educational infrastructure, such as schools, classrooms, libraries, and laboratories. They ensure
that institutions have adequate facilities to support effective teaching and learning.
Stakeholder Engagement: The Cabinet Secretary engages with various stakeholders, including
teachers’ unions, parents, students, and educational organizations. They consult and collaborate
with these stakeholders to address their concerns, gather feedback, and make informed decisions
for the improvement of educational institutions.
Policy Advocacy: The Cabinet Secretary represents the education sector at national and
international forums. They advocate for policies and initiatives that promote the development of
educational institutions in Kenya. This includes participating in conferences, seminars, and
meetings to share best practices and learn from other countries.
Principal Secretary
The office that is under the office of the cabinet secretary of education is that of principal.
Principal Secretary is the one who is in-charge of accounting in the department of education.
Generally principal secretary is the one in charge of all finances allocated to education ministry
by the finance ministry. Whatever project is carried out for example allocation of funds to be
used during national examinations, the principal secretary is the one who allocates them under
supervision of cabinet secretary.
The other function of the principal secretary i that he/she is the advisor of the cabinet secretary.
Recently we have seen principal secretary of education Dr. Belio Kipsang working very closely
with the cabinet secretary of education Dr. Fred Matiangi and Amina Mohammed to eradicate
the menace of exam cheating .That office of the principal secretary which is currently held by
Dr. Belio Kipsangis in-charge of the office of the director general education and five other
departments which are as follows;
1)Directorate of primary education
2)Directorate of secondary and tertiary education
3)Directorate of alternative basic adult education and continuing education.
4)Directorate of university education
5)Directorate of school audit.
Point to note is that office of general director is a directorate like any other directorate under the
office of the principal secretary.and in the chart above they are in same level with other five
directorates, but we should know that the office of the director general is the overall office
amongst the six directorates under the principal secretary of education.
personnel’s who works in the office of principal secretary.
 Personal assistant- 1 personnel
 Personal secretary- 3 personnel’s
 Support staff -2 personnel’s
 Principal driver- 2 personnel’s
Director General of Education
This is the directorate that falls under the office of the principal secretary. There are some duties
performed by director general but the main work is to advise principal secretary on issues
concerning technical aspects of the state departments.
Other function performed by director general is to oversee the implementation of information
and communication technology.
The director general makes sure that the necessary technology is used in schools for examples
the laptops that were given by the government to primary school kids, it is the duty of general
director to make sure the teaching through them is facilitated.
The office of the director general also partners with other educational stake holders to make sure
level of education in the country becomes better for example the office may partner with
international bodies like UKAID and USAID as we have seen to raise level of literacy in the
country.
Also it is the duty of the director general to make sure there is coordination of projects. Any
educational project for example transformation of a county school to be extra-county school is
organized and co-ordinated by director general. In the office of the director general, there is staff
that works hand in hand with director general to make sure all roles regarding the office are done
.these staff includes;
 Deputy Director General – 3 personnel’s
 Senior assistant director- 3 personnel’s
 Education officers -6 personnel’s
1)Directorate of Primary Education
This is another directorate that is under the principal secretary.
According to the new constitution is that it should be headed by a secretary of primary education,
and the secretary should be in a job group T.
The secretary of primary education should manage the body which we refer to as primary special
needs education and primary teacher education (SNE).
This means he /she is in-charge of all primary schools in Kenya and other areas which deals with
basic education. Also the secretary is in-charge of teachers colleges in Kenya.
Point to note is that initially this post was held by provincial education officer (PEO). Some of
the roles performed by the directorate of primary education is to make sure that there are enough
colleges and also enough teachers to teach in primary.
This directorate woks in three departments, which are;
1)Research policy and strategy
2)Primary education development
3)Department of programmes and grants.
The personnel’s who works with secretary of primary education are;
 Director primary of education- 3 personnel’s
 Deputy Director -4 personnel’s
 Senior assistant director primary education -8 personnel’s
 Principal education officer 14 personnel’s
2) Directorate of Secondary and Tertiary Education
This directorate is also under principal secretary office and it is headed by secretary of
secondary. The personnel to be secretary should be in job group T.
This directorate Is also answerable to the director general. This directorate is in charge of all
secondary schools in Kenya and also tertiary institutions like polytechnics and technical.
There are officers who are appointed to be in-charge of secondary education and tertiary
education. The body deals with expansion of secondary and tertiary institutions by giving an
example I can say since the 2013 we have seen so many improvements in tertiary education, the
government has introduced more tertiary institutions all over the country.
The government is also financing the students who enrol in these institutions through higher
education board (HELB). According to my views is that a country without tertiary institutions is
not supporting self-reliance among its youths because tertiary institutions deals with imparting
blue collar skills to its students .
This directorate has two departments which are;
 Research policy strategy
 Secondary and tertiary education development.
3) Directorate of Alternative Basic Education and Continuous Education
This directorate is also headed by a secretary whose is at group T , this directorate mostly deals
with type of education that is not mostly carried out in normal class routine /programmes. It
includes adult education. One, function of this directorate is to oversee the development,
management and governance of institutions. Institutions such as the ones that deals with adult
education are governed by this directorate. This directorate liaises with other bodies like Kenya
institute of curriculum development (KICD) to come up with curriculum that is needed in these
schools. Since introduction of this body in education the literacy level among the adult who
dropped school long time ago has increased . Gumbaru schools have been introduced all over the
counties. This directorate has got staff that works together with the secretary to make sure all
roles have been performed .these staff includes:
 Director adult education -1 personnel
 Senior assistant director adult- 2 personnel’s
 Assistant director adult education- 6 personnel’s
  Principal adult education officer -8 personnel’s
 Adult education officer- 8 personnel’s
4) Director of University Education
The directorate is headed by the secretary who is also in group T.
This directorate purely deals with university issues. It works hand in hand with commission of
university education (CUE) and Kenya universities and colleges central placement services
(KUCCPS) to make sure that the university education is up its goals and aims. For example CUE
gives guidelines on the courses taken in universities, it also gives years under which the course
shall be undertaken.
The CUE also makes sure the universities that do not follow the rules that are stipulated by CUE
are punished. Giving Presbyterian university as an example is that it was closed by CUE because
they were not offering courses under the guidelines given by the CUE.
Also this directorate of university we have seen it terminating and also bringing to an end some
modes of learning like school based mode of learning. By all those examples I have given I can
say that one of the aims of the directorate is to regulate university education through formulation
and reviewing of policies.
The other role of this directorate is to coordinate strategic partnerships, collaborations and
linkages to foreign universities. We have seen universities especially university of Nairobi
exchanging ideas with other universities in the world.
Some students have been given scholarships to go and get education on other countries because
of this partnership. Also foreign countries offer financial support to Kenyan universities as a
result of partnership between these universities.
The secretary of this directorate is helped by other personnel’s in this departments, these
personnel’s includes:
 Director university -2 personnel’s
 Senior assistant director university education- 4 personnel’s
 Assistant director university education – 6 personnel’s Principal university education
officer- 8 personnel’s
 Chief university education -10 personnel’s
5)Directorate of School Audit
The other directorate under the principal secretary of education is the directorate of school audit.
The head of this directorate is the director at job group S. This body was established in the year
2016 after it was realized so many funds were being embezzled and there was need to come up
with a department that will close these gaps in the ministry . This body was set to scrutinize how
the billions of money sent to schools were used by the heads of the schools in the country.
The main aim of the directorate is to examine books of accounts to identify the expenditure
leakages and report back to the ministry. For example the money that is meant to buy textbooks
for pupils if it is misused in any way the head teacher of the institution will be held accountable.
In addition it has really helped to reduce misuse of funds and corruption, that was in there in
Kenyan schools especially primary and secondary schools. So each and every head teacher
should is held accountable for the money and projects he/she does in schools. This directorate
has got staff that helps the director to run it, these staff include:
 Deputy Director Schools audit -2 personnel’s
 Senior assistant director school audit -5 personnel’s Assistant director school audit- 54
personnel’s
 Principal internal audit -74 personnel’s
 Chief auditor -98 personnel’s
 Senior internal auditor -122 personnel’s
 Auditor 1 -159 personnel’s
 Auditor 2- 175 personnel’s
COUNTY STRUCTURE
The ministry of education is not structured under province like it were initially but now it is
structured under county. In provincial structure we had provincial education officer (PEO) and
other personnel’s, today there is nothing like that. The organization of educational will look as
follow but the discussion will briefly be shedding more lights on other personnel’s who are in-
charge of education at county level.
Director county education
The other chart below shows the departments found within county level. The following is
thechart of the personnel’s of ministry of education in the county.County director ↓Deputy
county director ↓Quality assurance and standards office↓County human resource officer ↓Sub
county director ↓Curriculum supportofficer I will only highlights some functions of these
personnel’s at the county level without elaboratingthem further
1)County director
Maintain a data base of registered teachers including the unemployed teachers in the county also
he/she Manages aspects of teachers management at the county level. Maintaining a data base for
all administrative posts in the county for example other stakeholders in the ministry of education
at county level. Submitting reports about the performance of the teachers at the national level.
Monitoring and assessing the conduct and performance of teachers at count level. Transmitting
reports from the heads of various primary schools and secondary schools submitting them to
principal secretary.
2)Deputy County Director
He/she is the one deputizes the county director of education. He/she co-ordinate curriculum
implementation in schools and adherence to the teaching standards.
Planning and facilitating interviews for heads and deputies of primary and post primary
institutions and ratification of appointments of heads and deputies of primary schools. He/she
undertakes standards assessment in the schools with quality assurance officers. Manage office
infrastructure, transport and other equipment allocated to the county. Last and not least he/she
can perform duties allocated by the county director.
3)Quality Assurance And Standards Officer
They ensure compliance with professional and ethical standards among heads of institution and
all teachers at the county level. They carry out routine, advisory and investigative standards
assessments with regard to teacher performance and compile appropriate reports. They ensure
compliance to teaching standards by preparation and use of professional teaching resources like
schemes of work and lesson plans. They work with other the county director and other
educational stakeholders in the county like minister of education at county level to make sure
education reforms and recommendations are well carried out.
4)County Human Resource Officer
This personnel has not variety works to perform. He/she is the one who is the head of the human
resource facility in the county level. He/she is the one who advises the county director of
education on all matters pertaining to human resource management and development function.
5)Sub-County Director
He/she is supposed to co-ordinate teachers performance management activities within the sub-
county level. The sub county director is the one who makes sure that the teacher in the count
level does according to teaching ethics and also is the one who investigates allegations of
professional misconduct within the teachers at sub county level. The sub-county director is the
one who supervises the staff within the sub-county level. He/she is the one who is supposed to
facilitate the processing of teacher registration at the sub-county level. The sub-county director
of education can also perform any function that has been assigned to him/her by the county
director of education.
6)Curriculum Support Officer
He/she works with quality assurance and standards officer to makes sure that the level of
education offered is up to its standards.
He she is the one who collects and submits to the sub-county director data on learner’s enrolment
in schools, staff changes and other related information.
He/she is the one provides professional guidance and counselling to teachers and giving
information on curriculum, evaluation, textbook selection and training of the teachers. These
officers also assist teachers to develop and use of appropriate teaching aids and other reference
materials.
He/she is the one who identifies needs of teachers and heads of institution and advises the
ministry of education on how to do it.
The school committee
According to the new constitution is that any primary school in Kenya especially the public ones
should have committees which run them. Constitution states that for every primary school
maintained and managed by a local authority there shall be a school committee established by
the local authority to advise the local authority on matters relating to the management of the
school. It should be noted that the school committee is responsible for managing a school in
Kenya.
The school committee consists of:
a)A school committee should have eight people elected to represent each class, for example if it
is class one it should have a representative who has been appointed by other parents of the same
class.
b)A school committee should also have one person appointed by sponsors of the school, for
example the school which is sponsored by Catholic Church should choose one person to
represent them in the committee
c)A school committee should also have one nominee of the district education board. The board
(DEB)
maintained and managed by a local authority there shall be a school committee established by
the local authority to advise the local authority on matters relating to the management of the
school. It should be noted that the school committee is responsible for managing a school in
Kenya. The school committee consists of:
a)A school committee should have eight people elected to represent each class, for example if it
is class one it should have a representative who has been appointed by other parents of the same
class.
b)A school committee should also have one person appointed by sponsors of the school, for
example the school which is sponsored by Catholic Church should choose one person to
represent them in the committee
c)A school committee should also have one nominee of the district education board. The board
(DEB) should appoint one person to represent the board in the committee
d)A school committee should also have three members whom are appointed by local authority.
e)The school committee should have a secretary who shall be taking minutes while the meeting
is continuing ,most of the time the secretary of the school committee is the head teacher of a
school’s
f)The person who is in-charge of the school committee is chairperson. At the very first seating of
the meeting the members should elect one person who will be their chairman at the committee
g)The school committee should also have a treasurer who will be taking care of the finances.
Also treasurer is elected by the members of the school committee. A point to note is that there is
no other staff member for example a teacher should not be in school committee apart from head
teacher only.
The school committee has got various functions to perform. These roles are:
a)It deals with staffing needs and issues.
The members may advise the committee executive that is ,chairman, secretary and treasurer on
what to do on the issue of staffing in a school, for example if the school has no enough teachers
the committee may decide to look on other alternative of having teachers who are employed by
parents(PTA). If the school needs also a watchman the committee may highlight on that issue
and give out the positive response
b)Budgeting for school
The committee can budget for its finances that have been collected from school utilities like
school farms. They may decide to build another class if the budget gets approved by district
education board (DEB) and also local authority and even from the sponsors’
c)To facilitate in ensuring school goals and objectives have been achieved. The school
committee member may give advice and also moral support to the teaching staff on how to
improve school performance. Also if the school is sponsored by certain domination, the
committee makes sure religious traditions of the denomination have been followed in that school,
for example schools that have been sponsored by Catholics practice religious traditions of the
catholic beliefs’
d)Highlighting and solving various issues in school
The committee gives advice to the school executive on how to solve problems affecting the
pupils and also the school fraternity in general, for example if there is the issue of indiscipline
cases among pupils it can be pin-pointed
e)Collecting and allocating funds
The schools can have its own resources where it gets its funds from, for example a school may
be having a tea plantation. The school committee should collect money that is gotten from this
tea plantation and be approved by district education board. If there is embezzlement of funds
then the school committee should account for the issue.

TSC duties and responsibilities of Principal, Deputy Principal, HOD

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
a) Is the Accounting Officer of the school.
b) Is to set standards and targets of activities for the school.
c) Controls the finances of the school.
d) Maintains the school infrastructure and facilities.
e) Plans, develops and monitors curricular and co-curricular activities of the school.
f) Maintains discipline among staff and students of the school.
g) Ensures the keeping of statutory records of the school, adhere strictly to the approved
admission and transfer list from the Ministry of Education and approves issuance of testimonials
and certificates.
h) Supervises the proper completion of entry schedule of approved external examinations.
i) Monitors the performance of his Deputy Principal and Deputy-Principals.
j) Should be conversant with Government policies and regulations as they affect the school
system.
k) Is to endorse all incoming and outgoing correspondences for action.
l) Maintains a functional and cordial relationship with the school community, School
Management Committee, Old Students’ Association and other critical stakeholders.
m) Shall provide job description for all supporting staff.
n) Shall teach minimum of six periods per week.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL (ADMINISTRATION)

a) Takes charge of the school in the absence of the Principal.
b) Keeps the Admission Registers, issues Transfer Certificates and testimonials, with strict
supervision and monitoring of the school principal, being the Accounting Officer of the school.
The principal reserves the rights to withdraw those two vital documents from the custody of the
Deputy Principal (Administration) if not properly handled and accounted for.
c) Keeps and monitors the staff attendance register and staff movement book.
d) Prepares weekly duty roster for the staff and ensures that the duties are carried out by staff.
Weekly reports of the duty carried out within the week must be written by the coordinator of the
week and submitted to the Deputy Principal (Administration).
e) prepares statistical data and makes necessary returns to the appropriate quarters.
f) Presides over the Disciplinary Committee and also ensures that a high standard of discipline is
maintained among teachers and students.
g) Takes charge of teachers’ and Students’ welfare.
h) Ensures that the Students’ Representative meetings are held regularly and resolutions at the
meetings are passed to the Principal.
i) Acts as the second signatory to the school accounts.
j) Appoints the class teachers in consultation with the school principal and monitors the proper
keeping of attendance registers.
k) Assists the Principal in attending to general correspondence.
l) Monitors the performance of the non-teaching staff.
m) Takes charge of non-academic co-curricular activities.
n) Performs any other duties that may be assigned to him/her by the Principal.
o) Teaches a minimum of eight periods per week.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPUTY PRINCIPAL (ACADEMIC)

a) Assists the Principal in key day to day running of the school in academic matters.
b) Ensures that up-to-date schemes of work are available in the various subjects.
c) Prepares in consultation with the Principal, the allocation of subjects to all teachers.
d) Prepares the school Time-Table with the assistance of the time-table committee.
e) marks the lesson notes of the H.O.Ds and ensures that the H.O.Ds mark the lesson notes of the
teachers under them.
f) Monitors teachers’ performance in the teaching of their subjects and checks the lesson missed
registers regularly.
g) Ensures that the weekly record of work is written in the diaries and checked at the end of the
week.
h) Presides over the Examination Committee, ensures that periodic tests are given, marked,
recorded and kept.
i) Maintains up-to-date statistical records on academic matters.
j) Takes charge of subject oriented co-curricular activities e.g. (subject associations).
k) Holds regular meetings with Year Tutors and H.O.Ds with Principal’s approval to discuss
academic matters, minutes of which shall be passed to the Principal within three days.
l) Assists in the general discipline of both staff and students.
m) Acts as one of the three signatories to the school accounts.
n) Acts as the Chairman of the speech and prize-giving day committee.
o) Carries out other duties assigned to him/her by the Principal.
p) Teaches a minimum of eight periods per week.

DUTIESAND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT (HOD)

Heads of Department shall be by seniority, qualifications and performance.
a) Co-ordinates the academic work of all teachers in the Department.
b) Examines and marks lesson notes of teachers in the Department.
c) Checks the subject diaries and ensures that records of work done are entered at the end of
every week.
d) Advises the Deputy-Principal (Academic) on the allocation of subjects to the teachers in the
Department.
e) Reviews the curriculum and schemes of work and recommends improvement where
necessary.
f) Recommends books from the approved list for each class to the Deputy-Principal (Academic)
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CLASS TEACHER
a) Takes charge of a particular class and ensures the cleanliness of the classroom.
b) Marks the attendance register daily and takes note of all absentees.
c) Sees to the welfare of every student in the class as the in-loco-parentis and finds out the causes
of any unduly long absence of a student from school and reports to the Deputy-Principal
(Administration).
d) Shall be very accessible and ready to help the students in solving their personal challenges, if
any.
e) Keeps watch over their individual behaviour and constantly advises them on all aspects of
their school life and refers difficult problems to the guidance counsellor.
Roles of class prefect