Adapt or fail: CS Ogamba demands new role for teachers

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Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba wants teachers to reinvent their classroom role as artificial intelligence and competency-based learning transform how students learn.

Technology alone will not transform education, said Ogamba, who warned that teachers must build new skills to help learners think critically, collaborate, innovate and apply knowledge to real-life problems.

"We can provide digital devices. We can introduce new curricula and strengthen assessment systems. But the teacher remains central to translating education policy into a meaningful classroom experience," said Ogamba.

"The teacher of today must increasingly be a facilitator, a mentor, an innovator, a researcher and a lifelong learner. The competency-based approach requires teachers to help learners discover, create, collaborate and apply knowledge. At the same time, we must address teacher welfare and working conditions that enable educators to perform these responsibilities effectively," he added.

Ogamba spoke in Kisii on Thursday at the opening of the inaugural Gusii Education Stakeholders Convention at Kisii University, held under the theme "Reimagining Education in the Gusii Region through Collaboration and Innovation for Sustainable Development."

The convention drew government officials, education agencies, university and college leaders, teachers, parents, learners, development partners and private-sector representatives to discuss education outcomes in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies has shifted the debate from whether schools should adopt technology to whether they are using it effectively to improve learning, said Ogamba.

"The digital revolution is no longer approaching. It is already here. Artificial intelligence, digital learning, online resource platforms and emerging technologies are changing the way knowledge is created, shared and applied," he said.

"The question, therefore, is no longer whether schools should embrace technology. The question is: how do we ensure that technology actually improves learning? Our digital transformation agenda must therefore go beyond providing devices," Ogamba noted.

Ogamba praised Equity Bank for partnering in the convention, saying collaboration between government and the private sector matters in efforts to improve education outcomes.

Representing Equity Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi and Equity Bank Kenya Managing Director Moses Nyabanda, Equity Bank Kenya Head of Education Sector Peter Ndoro said education remains one of the most powerful tools for social and economic transformation.

The changing education landscape requires stakeholders to look beyond academic achievement and equip learners with skills relevant to a changing economy, said Ndoro, who added that collaboration cannot be separated from efforts to rethink education.

"If we are serious about reimagining education, collaboration cannot be optional. No single institution can transform education alone. Government provides policy, resources and an enabling environment. Schools and universities provide knowledge and nurture talent. Teachers shape the minds and character of learners. Parents provide support and guidance. Development partners bring expertise and resources. The private sector contributes investment, innovation, technology and opportunities, while communities provide local knowledge and ownership," said Ndoro.

Bringing these stakeholders together could move education discussions from isolated interventions to solutions grounded in the realities learners face, he said.

"When these players come together around a shared purpose, we can achieve far more than any one institution could achieve alone. This convention provides precisely such an opportunity: a platform to listen, learn from one another, challenge existing approaches and develop solutions that respond to the realities of learners in the Gusii region," Ndoro said.

The convention drew on a baseline assessment by scholars from Kisii University that established the state of education in Kisii and Nyamira counties, said Ogamba.

The assessment examined educational performance, equity and inclusion, infrastructure, digital transformation, teacher development, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, financing and partnerships, learner well-being, assessment institutions, climate resilience and emerging challenges.