The legislators say Matiangi has failed to foster harmony in the education sector/FRANCIS MBATHA
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 27 – Three Opposition Members of Parliament have asked Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi to vacate office in the next seven days, failure to which the lawmakers have threatened to table an impeachment motion in Parliament a process they say they are confident will materialise if Matiangi does not bow to their demands.
Led by Saboti Member of Parliament Caleb Amisi, the lawmakers want Matiangi to resign over what they have termed as radical measures instituted by the CS consequently leading to mass failure in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam (KCSE).
“Matiangi cannot start employing drastic measures in the education sector without consulting the stakeholders. The Ministry cannot be run as a one man show. The CS is trying to please people instead of being realistic, he is making our children fail and we as lawmakers cannot sit and watch him ruin the lives of our children,” said Amisi during a press briefing at a city hotel on Wednesday.
Since the release of this year’s results, Matiangi has been in the spotlight with many of the concerned parties, including political leaders, questioning the credibility of the results hence calling for a proper audit of the results.
Amisi said Matiangi has proved to be unrealistic in his handling of matters education saying it’s high time that he resigns before the country is treated to societal issues that would emanate from the rising number of students whom would have failed due to Matiangi’s methods.
“The biggest challenge is that the huge number of those students who never made it to university may end up resorting to engaging in activities that may harm the society or even harm themselves in the process.”
“The practice in many countries is that the examinations are standardised. This is done especially where majority of the students have performed poorly. This is what is called recalibrating grading scales depending on performance to achieve a normal performance curve an element Matiangi decided to drop this year leading to perceived mass failure,” said Amisi.
Uriri Member of Parliament Mark Nyamita said there plan has already received backing from a section of their colleagues in the Jubilee camp and asked Matiangi to tone down or else be prepare to be rendered jobless.
Nyamita said that they have already written to the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi asking him to have the house recalled so that the lawmakers can discuss the credibility of the results.
“We want to discuss this issue at length. The impeachment motion against Matiangi is not something that is far fetched, it is something within our reach and we think it is necessary so that we can restore sanity within our education sector,” said Nyamita.
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