Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i at a past event. Dr Matiang'i
will preside over the release of 2015 KCPE exam results on December 30,
2015 and in early 2016, release of 2015 KCSE results. PHOTO | DIANA
NGILA | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
Away from politics and governance, education, health and security are among the issues expected to dominate headlines in 2016.
On
Wednesday, the Kenya National Examination Council will be releasing the
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results, setting the
stage for Form One selection in January and February next year.
In March, the council will also be releasing KCSE results that will determine which students will proceed to university.
The
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) will also be embarking
on an 18-month long review of the curriculum which could, in 2018, lead
to a new system of education if it is established that there is need to
scrap the 8-4-4 system, which was started in 1985.
Implementing
the free laptops projects, which was one of the pledges made by the
Jubilee administration during the campaigns for the 2013 elections, will
also feature prominently in 2016.
In the past, the project was frustrated by disputes over the award of tenders.
All
these will mean that the newly-appointed Cabinet Secretary for
Education, Dr Fred Matiang’i, will be among the government officials in
the media spotlight alongside the bosses at KICD, Knec and TSC as well
as the leaders of teachers’ unions.
KEY AREAS
In
health, which is also a key deliverable area for the public, ensuring
that the machines acquired by the national government for county
hospitals start working will be a key area to watch, as in the past, the
project caused friction between national government leaders and
governors.
Improving treatment for cancer, HIV, malaria
and tuberculosis and infectious diseases, which together are the
highest causes of death, will also be a key indicator for government
performance.
On Security, the threat posed by
Al-Shabaab and the fear that the hunt for votes ahead of the 2017
election could spark ethnic violence, will remain key challenges putting
both the CS for Interior, Maj-Gen Joseph Nkaissery and Defence’s, Ms
Raychelle Omamo, in the spotlight throughout 2016.
And
with the IAAF championships coming up in March and the Olympics later in
the year, Kenyan athletes are expected to shine globally after a year
in which doping claims cast a pall over athletics globally.
Here are some of the people expected to be in the public spotlight.
****
RAYCHELLE OMAMO
Defence
Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and her ministry will in 2016 likely
remain in the news because Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) will be continuing
with its campaign to vanquish Al-Shabaab in Somalia and in the border
regions of Mandera, Lamu and Garissa.
Her ministry has been in the spotlight in recent weeks amid debate on whether military spending should be audited.
The
role of the military in securing borders and assisting other security
agencies in combating local threats will put her and KDF in the news.
Ng’ang’a Mbugua
Earlier
this month, Kenya and the UK signed an agreement which provides that
British soldiers who break the law while training in Kenya will be
prosecuted locally.
The new agreement, which ended
immunity for the 10,000 foreign troops who train in Kenya every year, is
could be put to the test in 2016.
****
JULIUS YEGO
World
javelin champion Julius Yego is likely to have a busy 2016 with the
chance to make history during the June 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de
Janeiro.
He will also take part in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, USA, on March 17 to 20.
The
YouTube athlete will be looking to consolidate his position in the
field event in the coming year, diversifying Kenya’s dominance beyond
track events.
Earlier this month, he was named Kenyan athlete of the year, crowning a successful year in which he set a new javelin record.
David Kwalimwa
Kenya's Julius Yego reacts during
the final of the men's javelin throw athletics event at the 2015 IAAF
World Championships at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium in Beijing on
August 26, 2015. Earlier this month, he was named Kenyan athlete of the
year, crowning a successful year in which he set a new javelin record.
PHOTO | PEDRO UGARTE | AFP
****
DR JULIUS OUMA JWAN
Director
of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Julius Ouma Jwan is
set to play a critical role in the new year with a review of the
curriculum set to kick off officially next month.
In
January, the institute will embark on a survey to ascertain the actual
needs of different players in education, from teachers and parents to
learners.
KICD has 18 months to develop the new curriculum, which is to be implement by the beginning of 2018.
It is also through the review process that Kenyans will have an opportunity to decide on which form of education they want.
Dr Jwan said the review would focus on academics, vocational training and talent development.
“National values aspects will also be captured in the new curriculum,” he said.
The curriculum was last reviewed in 2002.
Kenya effected the last curriculum reform in 1985, when there was a shift from the 7-4-2-3 to the 8-4-4 system.
Ouma Wanzala
****
DR FRED MATIANG'I
Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i will have a busy 2016 with the review of the curriculum.
He will lead the implementation of the laptops project which has failed for the last three years.
However, coming from the ICT Ministry, which was also involved in co-ordinating the project, he will be in familiar territory.
On Wednesday, he will preside over the release of the 2015 KCPE exam results and in early 2016, release of 2015 KCSE results.
He will be expected to shepherd the salaries deal between the TSC and the teachers’ unions.
Ouma Wanzala
****
DR CLEOPA MAILU
Newly
appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu has said that top
on his to-do-list in the New Year is to ensure the Sh38 billion medical
equipment project launched early this year is brought into operation
fully.
Kenyans will be expecting better services in
public hospitals, including improvements in the free maternity services
and the putting of more HIV patients on free life-prolonging drugs.
Dr
Mailu said with the ongoing reforms at the NHIF and the Kenya Medical
Supplies Authority, his ministry will be better placed to serve
wananchi.
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