Chairperson of the National Assembly Committee on Education, Julius Melly, has assured teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders that all views collected during the just-concluded month-long public participation on six education reform bills will be submitted to Parliament in their original, unedited form.
Speaking on Monday during the World Teachers’ Day celebrations at the Kasarani Gymnasium, Melly said none of the submissions made during the county forums would be altered before presentation to the House.
“So know very well that this is a listening government, this is a listening leadership in the House. Whatever you told us, we are going to present raw as it is before the House of Parliament,” Melly said.
His message was particularly targeted at Junior secondary teachers, whose calls for autonomy and separation from the comprehensive school management model emerged as one of the most prominent proposals during the public hearings.
“We heard you. Know that as a representative of the people, you know exactly that we are not going to do anything other than take it to the people and a decision will be made in the interest of the people of Kenya,” he said.
Melly said Parliament would fast-track the passage of all bills related to education once they come before the House, as part of ongoing efforts to transform Kenya into a first-world country.
He commended President William Ruto, the chief guest at the national ceremony, for prioritising the education sector, particularly through the construction of new classrooms and laboratories and the recruitment and promotion of teachers.
“Whereas less than 70,000 teachers had been promoted in a span of 10 years, the Ruto administration has promoted a record 160,000 teachers in just four years,” Melly said.
Melly’s remarks came as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) marked 60 years since the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation that first set global standards for the teaching profession.
The 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebrations, held under the theme “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures”, blended recognition of outstanding educators with broader reflections on the future of schooling in Kenya.
President Ruto, in his keynote address, anchored his speech on tangible welfare gains for teachers—promising the recruitment of 120,000 new teachers by December 2026, including conversion of 20,000 contract teachers to permanent and pensionable terms.
He further listed expansion of teachers’ health cover to 3,871 facilities and reservation of 20,000 affordable housing units for teachers as part of the milestone achieved by his administration in four years.
Ruto also highlighted the largest single-year promotion exercise in Kenya’s history, with 34,016 slots already advertised and a pledge to scale this to 50,000.
Against this backdrop, Melly’s assurance that public views on the six education reform bills would be submitted “raw” to Parliament sought to allay fears that stakeholder input—especially from Junior secondary teachers—might be diluted in the legislative process.
The six bills under review touch on critical areas including governance of basic education, teacher regulation, curriculum implementation and financing, all of which directly affect the working conditions and professional trajectory of teachers.
Melly framed the legislative changes as complementary to the executive’s investments in infrastructure, staffing and teacher welfare, with his emphasis on fast-tracking the bills signaling an intent to align policy with the views of the larger population.
