Early Childhood Education Act

This Act may be cited as the Early Childhood Education Act.

Provides definitions of terms used in the Act, listing meanings for quoted terms such as "board of management", "Cabinet Secretary", "child", and others.

County governments are specified to provide a framework for establishing a comprehensive early childhood development and education system.

Recognises the right to free and compulsory basic education under Article 53 of the Constitution.

Every child has the right to free and compulsory early childhood education in a public education centre.

County governments must provide free and compulsory early childhood education in public education centres within the county.

Parents or guardians must present or cause their child to be admitted to an education centre; failure is an offence punishable by a fine up to ten thousand shillings, and if unable to pay, imprisonment up to one year or other penalties including community service.

The head teacher must investigate a learner's unexplained absence (with the village administrator), issue a written notice to the learner's parent requiring compliance, and submit a report to the County Education Board; a parent who without reasonable cause and after such notice fails to comply commits an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.

The county executive committee member must provide infrastructure and measures to ensure children with special needs can access and receive early childhood education, and must carry out a list of specified actions (screening tools, identification, training, programmes, access to sports, individualized education plans, psychosocial support, teacher aids, and other necessary support).

County governments must establish and maintain early childhood education centres.

The section specifies what the county register must list (registered centres, cancelled registrations, and other particulars) and allows any person to inspect or obtain copies; the County Education Board may determine additional particulars from time to time.

A person must be registered under the Act to offer early childhood education services or to establish or maintain an education centre; otherwise they must not offer or maintain such a centre.

A person intending to offer early childhood education and development services must submit a registration application to the County Education Board in the prescribed form and provide the prescribed supporting documents listed in Section 13(2).

If a person or entity already registered to offer basic education intends to offer early childhood education, they must apply for registration to offer early childhood education.

The County Education Board must provisionally register applicants meeting the registration criteria.

After provisional registration the County Education Board must inform the county executive committee member; the county executive committee member must cause a review between six and twelve months (or earlier if they consider necessary), must conduct further review on request of the County Education Board, and must submit review findings to the County Education Board and the head teacher, including whether the centre meets registration criteria and areas for improvement.

Criterion for registration: situated in premises that meet the requirements of a suitable premises under section 19.

The County Education Board must grant full registration and issue a certificate to a provisionally registered education centre when it is satisfied the centre meets the registration criteria.

The County Education Board must consider the criteria in the First Schedule when determining whether an education centre's premises are suitable for early childhood education.

The board of management must not change the centre's location or acquire additional premises for running the centre unless it has applied to and obtained approval from the County Education Board; the County Education Board must consider the criteria in section 17 when deciding whether to grant approval.

County Governments may establish mobile schools to facilitate access to early childhood education within the county; the Cabinet Secretary may, in consultation with the County Education Board, prescribe requirements for establishing a mobile school.

A private education centre must establish the structures necessary for the management and administration of education within the centre.

The County Education Board may, where an education centre fails to meet registration criteria or there are other specified grounds, issue a notice to comply, require the head teacher to inform parents, impose registration conditions, suspend registration, or cancel registration in accordance with section 25.

The County Education Board has the power to suspend an education centre's registration when the welfare of learners is at risk and (a) the risk cannot be managed by any practicable means other than suspension, or (b) managing the risk without suspension would take an amount of time that the County Education Board considers excessive.

The County Education Board must (a) obtain and consider relevant information including review committee reports, (b) give written notice with reasons to a centre's board of management if it is considering cancelling registration, and (c) give that board a reasonable opportunity to respond.

A person aggrieved by a County Education Board decision may appeal to the Education Appeals Tribunal within thirty days of notification; the Cabinet Secretary may prescribe the appeal form and the manner of determination.

Defines private and public education centres; prohibits converting a public education centre to private status without consultation and approval.

Private persons, including religious institutions, may sponsor public education centres; sponsors must not influence curriculum or compromise applicable law or teachers' professional standards; sponsors may participate in review of syllabus and offer financial, infrastructural and spiritual support; curriculum must follow the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

Every public education centre must have a board of management; the board has corporate powers (e.g., sue and be sued, hold property, borrow, contract) and must seek County Education Board approval before exercising its property acquisition and borrowing functions.

Section 30 sets out who composes the board of management for an early childhood education centre and several duties and powers of that board, including appointment of a chairperson, reporting to the County Education Board, that the head teacher is secretary, and authority to co-opt up to two persons.

The board of management must identify local early childhood education and development service needs and develop viable strategies to meet them.

The board of management of an early childhood education centre may establish committees it considers appropriate to perform functions and discharge responsibilities.

The Parents Teachers Association must elect a Chairperson at its first meeting; the head teacher must be the Secretary to the Parents Teachers Association.

Every public education centre must submit an annual report to the County Education Board.

Requires maintaining a register of learners who attend or have attended the early childhood education centre, including each learner's date of birth.

A person is qualified for employment as an early childhood education teacher if they are registered as a teacher by the Teachers Service Commission.

Education centres registered immediately before commencement are deemed registered under this Act and remain licensed for one year subject to conditions; the County Education Board may issue or cancel transitional certificates and may declare deemed registration ended where subsection (4) applies; notices must state reasons.

A person employed as an early childhood teacher when this Act starts who lacks the minimum requirements under section 36(1) will continue to qualify for that employment if they obtain the necessary qualifications within four years of the commencement of the Act.

County governments must govern and manage early childhood education centres in their county; the county executive committee member must determine resource and infrastructure requirements in consultation with the County Education Board.

The county government must pay remuneration to early childhood education teachers employed in public education centres within the county, the amount to be determined in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

A person must not charge or collect any fee to admit a child into a public education centre; however, non‑Kenyan persons may be required to pay admission fees.

Children are to be admitted at the start of the academic year or within another period an education centre may prescribe; the person responsible for admissions must not discriminate against any child on listed grounds.

Children aged four to six are eligible for admission to an education centre; head teachers may admit older children and may use identification documents to determine age; children must not be denied admission for lack of proof of age.

An education centre under this Act must not administer examinations to determine admission into the centre.

Learners admitted to an education centre must not be held back in any class or expelled without the County Education Board's approval.

A private education centre must comply with and follow the curriculum approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development must develop and periodically review early childhood education curricula for counties; service providers must implement reviewed frameworks.

Public childhood education centres must not charge tuition for learners; they may charge fees for children who are not Kenyan citizens; staff who impose charges commit an offence and face a fine up to 100000 shillings or imprisonment up to six months, or both.

Section provide appropriate and adequate learning and play materials;

Education centres are prohibited from providing early childhood education services or offering tuition during school holidays, on weekends, or on days declared public holidays under the Constitution or the Public Holidays Act (Cap. 110).

The Cabinet Secretary must prescribe the teacher-to-child ratio for early childhood education centres, in consultation with the Teachers Service Commission and the County Education Board.

Education centres must not offer boarding facilities unless they are child care centres that are registered under the law regulating child care facilities.

Education centres that administer or intend to administer a foreign curriculum must apply to the County Education Board for accreditation.

An education centre that intends to apply for accreditation must apply to the County Education Board in the prescribed form and submit that application together with a certificate from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development confirming that the foreign curriculum adheres to the set early childhood curriculum.

Acknowledge receipt of the application within a period of seven days of receipt of the application.

The County Education Board must visit an education centre within sixty days of an accreditation application and, during that visit, authenticate submitted information and evaluate whether the centre meets registration standards.

County Education Board may grant interim accreditation; the education centre issued such a certificate must address non-compliance within a period not exceeding twelve months, and the certificate is deemed expired if the centre fails to meet standards within that period.

Section 56 allows the County Education Board to defer its decision on an accreditation application and to require the applicant to submit additional information or take measures; it also provides that a certificate of accreditation, once granted, is valid for five years and renewable subject to prescribed conditions; the section contemplates granting or rejecting applications and requires written reasons for rejection.

Education centres may apply to renew accreditation; the County Education Board must consider such renewal applications in consultation with the county executive committee member.

adhere to the standards and conditions for accreditation

The County Education Board may suspend an education centre's certificate of accreditation for a specified period if the centre fails to meet accreditation standards, and the Board must communicate that decision to the centre with reasons, noted non-compliance and required actions.

The County Education Board must not revoke a certificate of accreditation unless it grants the education centre a right to be heard; an education centre may reapply for accreditation only after at least twelve months from revocation.

An education centre aggrieved by a County Education Board decision may appeal to the Education Appeals Tribunal within fourteen days of that decision.

The County Education Board must establish and maintain a register of accredited education centres.

Section establishes the County Quality Assurance Committee membership and assigns duties including appointment of members, election of a chair, establishing a secretariat, and ensuring and reviewing education quality standards.

Centres must maintain safe premises, ensure welfare of people in the institution, provide and keep emergency equipment and medicine (accessible in emergencies and kept out of children\'s reach), and the Cabinet Secretary must prescribe minimum health and safety standards.

Teachers and any staff of an education centre must not administer corporal punishment; contravening persons commit an offence and may be fined up to five hundred thousand or imprisoned for up to four years, or both.

Gives the Cabinet Secretary the power to make regulations (in consultation with specified bodies) to implement this Act, requires the Cabinet Secretary to prescribe minimum standards for early childhood teacher schemes of service within one year, lists specific topics regulations may cover, and limits the scope of the regulation-making power.

A person who contravenes any provision of this Act for which no penalty is specified commits an offence and, on conviction, is liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.