Foreign-curriculum schools face tighter State oversight under a proposed law that would give the Cabinet Secretary for Education power to approve, license and accredit foreign education systems.

The provision is contained in the Basic Education Bill, 2025 currently before Parliament and proposes that any person or institution seeking to offer a foreign system of education in Kenya to first obtain approval from the Cabinet Secretary for Education.

The CS would then be required to make regulations governing the registration, licensing, accreditation and quality assurance of foreign education systems offered in the country.

“A person or institution seeking to offer a foreign system of education in Kenya shall apply to the Cabinet Secretary for approval,” reads Clause 24 of the Bill sponsored by the Ministry of Education.

The proposed legislation is set to affect schools offering international curricula, including British, American, German and French programmes, as well as Cambridge International and the International Baccalaureate (IB), as Kenya moves to establish a clearer legal framework for their operation.

The Bill, however, does not specify which foreign curricula would fall under the new regime, leaving the details to regulations to be developed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba at a past event.

Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation

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“As you know we have a lot of international curricula here such as the IGCSE, British Curriculum, American Curriculum, the German, and there is no provision for that in our Basic Education Act,” Education Ministry Director General Elyas Abdi told the National Assembly Education Committee during a consultative meeting.

The Bill’s provision on foreign systems of education marks a move towards explicitly placing foreign-curriculum providers within the national legal framework governing basic education.

The proposed controls would operate alongside a broader requirement that every public or private institution seeking to offer basic education in Kenya must be registered.

The proposed law provides that registration would initially be provisional for one year, renewable for another year, until the institution has undergone quality assurance by the Ministry responsible for basic education and receives written confirmation that its registration is final.

Schools would also have to meet prescribed requirements relating to teachers, learning facilities, premises, occupational health and safety, infrastructure and equipment.

An application for registration would have to provide details including the institution's governance and management structure, qualifications and experience of its promoters and managers, programmes of instruction, teaching staff, infrastructure and the financial capacity of its promoters.

This means that foreign-curriculum schools would potentially face two layers of scrutiny including approval to offer the foreign system and registration as a basic education institution.

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The Director General at the Ministry of Education, Dr Elyas Abdi.

Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group

The proposed law appears to build on the broader recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform, which called for stronger quality assurance and a clearer framework for regulating education institutions.

The working party found weaknesses in Kenya's quality assurance system, including gaps in existing standards and weak enforcement mechanisms.

It recommended strengthening the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards through legislation, financing, staffing and capacity building, while giving it stronger powers to enforce education laws, regulations and standards.

The Working Party also recommended a comprehensive review of the National Education Quality Assurance and Standards Framework to address gaps and align it with international standards.

It further proposed that the framework include collaboration with other national and regional education authorities on best practices in quality assurance and standards.

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However, the Working Party did not specifically recommend a separate licensing or accreditation regime for foreign-curriculum schools.

The Bill therefore goes a step further by expressly providing for regulation of foreign systems of basic education.

The Working Party had also identified the need for a clearer framework governing the Government's engagement with private education providers.

It noted the significant role played by private institutions in providing education and identified the absence of a clear framework for government interaction with private institutions as one of the challenges requiring attention.

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ligadwah@ke.nationmedia.com