EDUCATION ACT ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I – PRELIMINARY, PART 2

4.       Board of Governors

  • The Minister may, by order, establish a Board of Governors for any maintained or assisted school, other than a primary school managed and maintained by a local authority, or, if the manager of any unaided school applies to him, for that unaided school, and the Minister may—
    • establish one board of governors for two or more schools; or
    • establish boards of governors for two or more schools by means of the same order.
  • The Minister may, by order, declare a Board of Governors to be a body corporate under the name of the Board of Governors of the school or schools, and such board of Governors shall have perpetual succession and a common seal with power to hold both movable and immovable property, and may in its corporate name sue and be
  • Where a Board of Governors is established, the Minister shall exercise all the functions of the board during the interval of time that may elapse between the establishment of the Board and the first meeting of the

5.      Constitution and functions of board of governors

An order establishing a Board of Governors shall provide for—

  • the exercise by the Board of the duty of management of the school or schools, subject to this Act, the Teachers Service Commission Act (Cap. 212) and any regulations made under this Act and to any limitations or restrictions that may be imposed by the order;
  • the membership of the Board, which shall be not less than five persons;
  • including among the members of the board representatives of the communities served by the school, of persons representing any voluntary body which was the founder of the school or its successor, and of any other persons or representatives of bodies or organizations that, in the opinion of the Minister, should be included;
  • the appointment and resignation of members and the continuity of the membership of the board;
  • a person or persons representing the Minister to attend at meetings of the board;
  • in the case of a Board of Governors which is not a body corporate, vesting the movable and immovable property of the Board in trustees incorporated under any law or in the Public Trustee;
  • the application of all the income of the school to promoting the objects of the school;
  • any other matters which the Minister considers it necessary or desirable to provide for with respect to the status, functions, constitution or procedure of the board.

6.       Default by Board of Governors

  • Where in the opinion of the Minister a Board of Governors has behaved irresponsibly or has failed to exercise properly its functions under this Act, he may in writing—
    • suspend the Board from the exercise of and performance of all its powers and duties, and appoint an administrator to exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the board for such period not exceeding one year as the Minister specifies;
    • require the resignation of all or any of the members of the board, and appoint or require the appointment of new members of the Board.
  • The Minister shall make regulations providing for the manner in which an administrator appointed under subsection (1) shall exercise all the powers and perform the duties of a board of

PART IV – REGISTRATION OF UNAIDED SCHOOLS

7.       Register of unaided schools

The Minister shall cause a register of unaided schools to be established and maintained, and the register shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times.

8.     Application for registration

  • Any person who wishes to establish an unaided school shall first make application to the Minister for the school to be
  • An application for registration shall state the classification of the proposed school according to the prescribed nomenclature and the classes or forms to be provided in the
  • In this section “establish”, in relation to a school, includes—
    • providing any additional class or form not included in any previous registration; or
    • providing any type of education not falling within the classification in which the school was previously registered; or
    • changing ownership or management of the school; or
    • transferring the school to a new site; or
    • reopening a school that has been closed under section 16.

9.       Registration

  • Where application is made for the registration of an unaided school, the Minister shall cause the school to be provisionally registered for a period of eighteen months, if he is satisfied that—
    • the establishment of the school is consistent with the needs of Kenya and the economical and efficient provision of public education; and
    • the premises and accommodation are suitable and adequate, having regard to the number, ages and sex of the pupils who are to attend the school, and fulfil the prescribed minimum requirements of health and safety and conform with any building regulations for the time being in force under any written law; and
    • the manager is a suitable and proper person to be the manager of the school:

Provided that, where the establishment of the school consists only of one or more of the acts specified in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of section 14(3), the Minister may, in his discretion, register the school at the outset instead of first registering it provisionally.

  • If, at the end of one year from the provisional registration of a school the Minister is satisfied that efficient and suitable instruction is being provided at the school, he may cause the school to be
  • The Minister may, as a condition of provisional registration or registration, require the manager of an unaided school to apply to him for an order establishing a Board of Governors for the school, and such a requirement may be made at any subsequent
  • Where the Minister refuses to provisionally register or to register an unaided school, he shall inform the person making the application in writing of the grounds of

10.   Closure of unaided school

  • Where the Minister is satisfied that an unaided school which has been registered under this Part is objectionable because the school—
    • fails to comply with paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of section 15(1); or
    • is a place in which efficient and suitable education or instruction is not being provided; or
    • is being conducted or managed in a manner which is, in the opinion of the Minister, prejudicial to the physical, mental or moral welfare of the pupils of the school, or to peace, good order or good government in Kenya; or
    • is a place in which a person is teaching who is not registered in the register of teachers kept under section 7 of the Teachers Service Commission Act (Cap. 212) (now repealed) and is not exempted under section 22 of that Act from registration; or
    • fails to conform with regulations made under section 19; or
    • has not complied with a condition imposed under section 15(3),

the Minister may serve on the manager of the school a notice in writing specifying the respects in which the school is objectionable and requiring him to remedy the said matters within a specified period not exceeding six months:

Provided that if, in the opinion of the Minister, there are urgent reasons for the immediate closure of the school the Minister may order the manager of the school to close the school forthwith.

  • If the manager of an unaided school fails to remedy the matters specified in a notice served on him under subsection (1) of this section within the period specified therein, the Minister shall order the manager to close the
  • An unaided school which has been ordered to be closed under this section, and any unaided school which has remained closed for a period of six months or more, shall be removed from the

11.    Regulations as to registration

The Minister may make regulations with respect to registration of unaided schools and in particular such regulations may—

  • prescribe the particulars to be entered in the register;
  • prescribe the manner in which application for registration shall be made and the particulars, proof or evidence to be supplied by the applicant;
  • prescribe with respect to any application for registration the procedure to be followed, the forms to be used and the fees to be paid;
  • prescribe the conditions which may be attached to provisional registration, beyond that mentioned in section 15(3);
  • provide for the issue, variation and revocation of certificates of provisional registration and certificates of registration;
  • require the submission from time to time, or at any time, of any particulars, information, documents or returns by the manager of a registered unaided school;
  • provide for any other matter that the Minister may consider necessary or desirable to provide for the purposes of this Part.

PART V – INSPECTION AND CONTROL OF SCHOOLS

12.    Inspection of schools

  • The Minister shall appoint officers with authority to enter and inspect any school, or any place at which it is reasonably suspected that a school is being conducted, at any time, with or without notice, and to report to him with respect to the school or any aspect
  • The Minister shall appoint officers with authority to enter any school at any time, with or without notice, and inspect or audit the accounts of the school or advise the manager of the school on the maintenance of accounting records, and may temporarily remove any books or records for the purpose of inspection or
  • On being so requested by an officer appointed under this section, the principal of the school shall place at the disposal of the officer all the facilities, records, accounts, notebooks, examination scripts and other materials belonging to the school that the officer may reasonably require for the purpose of the inspection of the school or the inspection or audit of its
  • An officer inspecting a school under subsection (1) shall have special regard to the maintenance of educational standards and to compliance with any regulations made under section
  • In this section, “school” includes—
    • any part of the school and any buildings used in connexion with the school, including workshops, dormitories, kitchens, sanatoria, hostels, ancillary buildings and any other buildings on the site of the school; and
    • except in subsection (2), an institution or assembly for which a Minister other than the Minister is responsible.

13.    Regulations as to conduct of schools

The Minister may make regulations with respect to the conduct and management of schools and such regulations may—

  • prescribe standards with regard to the numbers and qualifications of staff, the size of classes and the expenditure on educational materials;
  • provide for the preparation or approval of curricula, syllabuses, books and other educational materials;
  • prescribe minimum standards for the health and safety of pupils and for a satisfactory environment for education;
  • provide for the keeping of registers and records and the submission of returns;
  • provide for the admission, suspension, punishment and dismissal of pupils;
  • prescribe the minimum number of days in a year on which instruction shall be given;
  • prescribe how schools shall be classified and the name to be attached to each class of school;
  • make different provision with respect to different classes or kinds of schools, impose conditions and make exceptions;
  • provide for or prescribe such other matters as the Minister considers it necessary or desirable to provide for or prescribe.

PART VI – EXAMINATIONS AND DIPLOMAS

14.    Examinations and issue of certificates and diplomas

  • The Minister may provide for the conduct of public examinations, and may issue certificates or diplomas to pupils who have been successful in a public examination for the conduct of which he has
  • The Minister may issue certificates and diplomas to pupils who have successfully completed an approved course of education or

15.    No unauthorized issue of certificates or diplomas

No person except—

  • the persons and institutions named in the Second Schedule; or
  • a person who has received the consent of the Minister, given by notice in the Gazette,

shall issue a certificate or diploma to any person indicating or purporting to indicate, that a person has successfully completed a course of education or training, or has attained a particular educational standard, or possesses any skill, knowledge or professional competence.

16.   Regulations as to examinations, certificates and diplomas

The Minister may make regulations—

  • prescribing the manner in which certificates or diplomas may be issued under section 20;
  • prescribing the manner in which public examinations shall be conducted, and the conditions of entry and the fees to be charged;
  • concerning the submission of applications for the Minister’s consent to the issue of certificates and diplomas, and the revocation of such consent.