Let’s celebrate Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and support reforms

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has quickly emerged as the most results-oriented senior official in Government. Who would have thought that anyone in Government was able to fix the education sector – a field dominated by the strongest union in the country and which impacts virtually every household? Well, Dr Matiang’i has taken the bull by the horns and appears to have won the first round. The 2016 KCPE examination cycle went without any major hitches, and the announcement of results was perfectly-timed to send the message that things are now being done differently at the Ministry of Education.

For all of this, Kenyans of goodwill should congratulate Matiang’i and wish him well. Taking on the cartels that were responsible for exam leakage and the complete loss of faith in the system was most likely not easy. Many powerful people stood to lose money. The networks were elaborate, linking the Kenya National Examination Council with head teachers and education officers across the country. Matiang’i’s successful disruption of these networks is a win for the integrity of our examination system.

Now, he needs to move further and reinstate the same level of integrity in the wider education system. Are our teachers showing up in school on time? Do children learn while in the classroom? What is the appropriate role for parents to play in their children’s education? What should we do about schooling in the arid and semi-arid parts of the country populated by nomadic communities? And how should we fix the higher education sector in order to produce job-ready graduates for white and blue collar jobs? These are questions that Matiang’i and his team will have to answer.

These are questions that the President must allow Matiang’i to ask and begin to answer. Matiang’i’s success is also a reminder that it is quite possible to build islands of success and competence despite the triumph of absolute mediocrity in the wider public sector. We should celebrate this success, and also learn from it.

The lessons can inform other reform-minded Government officials. It is not clear that Matiang’i used an inordinate amount of resources in order to register these improvements. It is also not clear whether he got any strong political support from the president’s office.

What is clear is that Matiang’i, through personal effort and commitment to a specific goal, set the tone from the very top. This delivered a clear signal to other officials in the Education Ministry that it was no longer business as usual.

The focal effect of having a CS who was committed to reform, coupled with actual policy directives made a difference. This is unlike other Government officials who traffic in statements and nothing more. Matiang’i set the tone, then followed it with action. And the results speak for themselves.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see whether the president allows Matiang’i to continue with his reformist crusade. If history is any lesson, Matiang’i is likely to face opposition from the incompetent quarters within Government.

The slackers and their corrupt and incompetent friends will most certainly envy Matiang’i’s success. Ideally, this ought to make these less stellar officials want to pull up their socks. But our political incentive system being what it is, they will likely work to bring Matiang’i down to their level. I would not be surprised if in the next few weeks we get information about financial impropriety in the Ministry of Education, or other scheme designed to impugn the integrity of Matiang’i.

This is where the president’s leadership skills will come in. If he genuinely wants to make his administration result-oriented, then he should handsomely reward Matiang’i with greater leeway to implement ever further reaching reforms in the education sector.

The country desperately needs oases of success. Let’s build on know formulae of successful reforms.