The Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) has denied allegations by the Council of Governors (COG) that there are plans to transfer Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) services from counties to the national government.
The committee termed the allegations as misleading noting that it would require a constitutional amendment to transfer the ECDE services.
This came as the committee called for a crisis meeting between the national and county governments to resolve emerging differences so as to improve service delivery.
Early in the week, the COG rejected recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) on how to manage the education sector.
The council took issue with recommendations by the PWPER to transfer the management of over 30,000 ECDE centers to the national government.
But speaking in Naivasha IGRTC Chairman Kithinji Kiragu said that this was unattainable under the constitution as the services of ECDE were firmly rooted under county governments.
He said that the committee had called for a meeting on 16th of January between the two arms of the government to resolve the current impasse.
“The purpose of this meeting is to provide an avenue for consultations on the recommendations relating to the implementation of the pre-primary functions as envisaged by the law,” he said.
Addressing the press, Kithinji called on the two levels of government to leverage on the constitutional and statutory provisions that paved the way for continuous consultations.
“In view of the recommendations contained in the report by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, there is need for further consultations due to issues raised by COG,” he said.
On the transfer of powers, the chairman said that they were on course to finish the process after the President extended the committee tenure up to February.
He added that the committee had managed to resolve tens of disputes between counties and the national government and even inter-ministerial disputes.
“We are currently going through the last process of our reports so that all parties involved in the transfer process are content with final details,” he said.
On his part, IGRTC CEO Dr Kipkurui Chepkwony noted that it was a process to transfer the ECDE services from Counties to the national government.
“We have the mandate of making sure that the electorate is involved in the transfer of powers and that the two levels of government work in tandem for improved service delivery,” he said.
