Section 2 of The Basic Education Act 2013: Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“accreditation” means the procedure by which the accreditation agency formally recognizes the status of an institution offering basic education and confirms in writing by way of a documentation issued under this Act;
“adult” means an individual who has attained the age of eighteen years;
“adult and continuing education” means the learning processes within the perspective of lifelong learning in which an adult or out-of-school youth is granted an opportunity in an institution of basic education for purposes of developing abilities, enriching knowledge and improving skills;
“adult basic education” means basic education offered as a full-time or part-time course to a person who is above the age of eighteen years and includes
education by correspondence, the media of mass communication and the use of libraries, museums, exhibitions or other means of visual or auditory communication for educational purposes and “Adult learning” shall be construed accordingly;
“basic education” means the educational programmes offered and imparted to a person in an institution of basic education and includes Adult basic education and education offered in pre-primary educational institutions and centres;
“Cabinet Secretary” means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to Basic education and training;
“child” means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years;
“community” means persons residing in the neighbourhood of a basic education institution;
“County Director of Education” means a Director appointed under section 52;
“County Education Board” means a Board established as an agency of the national Government to serve the relevant county under section 17;
“curriculum” means all the approved subjects taught or programmes offered and includes all the activities provided at any institution of basic education;
“Director-General” means a person appointed under the Public Service Commission Act and responsible to the Cabinet Secretary;
“Duksi” means Islamic elementary institution that offers Quranic education and other related subjects;
“Education Appeals Tribunal” means the Appeals Tribunal established under section 92;
“EMIS” means Educational Management Information System;
“Education Standards and Quality Assurance Commission (ESQAC) means the Commission established under section 62;
“formal education” means the regular education provided in the system of schools, and other formal educational institutions;
“headteacher” has the meaning assigned to it under the Teachers Service Commission Act;
“ICT Integration and Education” means the seamless incorporation of information communication technologies to support and enhance the attainment of
curriculum objectives, to enhance the appropriate competencies including skills, knowledge, attitudes and values and to manage education effectively and efficiently at all levels;
“institution of basic education and training” means a public or private institution or facility used wholly or partly, regularly or periodically for conducting basic education and training and includes a school, a tuition facility, an educational centre, an academy, a research institution, a school correctional facility or a borstal institution;
“Madrassa” means the structural Muslim educational institutions or schools that offer Islamic and other subjects and are laddered from primary to secondary;
“manager” means a person who has been appointed by the Cabinet Secretary in consultation with the proprietor through regulations to coordinate and oversee implementation of education policies and guidelines in non-public basic education institutions and performs delegated teacher management functions;
“mobile school” means a formal flexible institution that allows for mobility of pupils and teachers and is specifically designed to suit the needs of migrant
communities;
“National Council for Marginalized and Nomadic Education” means the council provided for under section 92;
“National Education Board” means the National Board for Education and Training established under section 5 of this Act;
“non-formal education” means any organized educational activity taking place outside the framework of the formal education system and targets specific
groups/categories of persons with life skills, values and attitudes for personal and community development;
“out-of-school youth” means all persons who have attained the age of eighteen years but have not attained thirty five years and who are not engaged in learning in the formal education system;
“parent” means a mother, father or guardian of a child and includes any person who is responsible under the law to maintain a child or is entitled to a child’s custody;
“parent’s association” means an association as prescribed in subsection 53(2);
“pastoral programmes” means the curriculum designed by different Christian churches;
“pre-primary education” means education offered to a child of four or five years before joining level one in a primary school;
“primary education” means education imparted to a child who has completed pre-primary education;
“Principal” has the meaning assigned to it under the Teachers Service Commission Act;
“private school” means a school established, owned or operated by private individuals, entrepreneurs and institutions;
“Salaries and Remuneration Commission” has the meaning assigned to it under the Salaries and Remuneration Act;
“school” means an institution registered under this Act that meets the basic prescribed standards and includes institutions offering alternative approaches of multi-grade, double-shift, mobile schooling, out of school programmes, adult and continuing education, distance or correspondence instruction, or accelerated learning and talent based institutions, but does not include-
(a) any institution or assembly for which a Cabinet Secretary other than the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to basic education and training, is responsible;
(b) any institution or assembly in which the instruction is, in the opinion of the Cabinet Secretary, wholly or mainly of a religious character; or
(c) an institution mainly or wholly of a religious character;
“special education needs” means conditions, physical, mental or intellectual conditions with substantial and long term adverse effects on the learning ability (other than exposure) or the needs of those who learn differently or have disabilities that prevent or hinder or make it harder for them to access education or educational facilities of a kind generally provided for learners of the same age in the formal education system;
“special needs education” includes education for gifted or talented learners as well as learners with disability and includes education which provides
appropriate curriculum differentiation in terms of content, pedagogy, instructional materials, alternative media of communication or duration to address the special needs of learners and to eliminate social, mental, intellectual, physical or environmental barriers to learners;
“special school” means a school established for the benefit of a particular class of children who require some special form of education, treatment or care;
“sponsor” means a person or institution who makes a significant contribution and impact on the academic, financial, infrastructural and spiritual development of an institution of basic education;
“stakeholder” means a person, a public or private institution or organization involved in an education institution and with vested interests for the benefit of such an institution;
“statutory structural adjustment” means a systematic multi-disciplinary process of collecting information about learners for the purpose of identifying
and confirming the substantial and long-term impact on the learning process, abilities or educational progress so as to provide educational support based on the assessment or findings;
“teacher” has the meaning assigned to it under the Teachers Service Commission Act;
“tuition fees” means fees charged to cater for instruction or instructional materials.

Disclaimer: This document is not to be taken as legal advise.

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More Sections

Section 3 - Application
This Act shall apply to all institutions of basic, education under this Act.
Section 4 - Guiding principles
The provision of basic education shall be guided by the following values and principles- (a) the right of every child to free and compulsory basic education; (b) equitable access for the youth to...
Section 5 - Establishment and functions of the Board
There is established a Board to be known as the National Education Board. (2) The functions of the Board shall be to advise the Cabinet Secretary, the department of education and related departments...
Section 6 - Conduct of business and affairs of the Board
(1) The conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the Board shall be as provided in the First Schedule. (2) Except as provided under the First Schedule, the Board may regulate its own...
Section 7 - Composition of the Board
(1) The Board shall consist of a chairperson and eight other members appointed by the Cabinet Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this Act. (2) The chairperson shall serve for a term of...
Section 8 - Qualifications for appointment as chairperson or member of the Board
(1) A person shall be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson of the Board if such person— (a) holds a degree in education from a university recognized in Kenya; (b) has knowledge and at least...
Section 9 - Disqualifications from appointment
A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson or a member of the Board if such person— (a) is a member of Parliament or a county assembly; (b) is a member of a local...
Section 10 - Appointment and term of Chairperson and members
(1) Upon commencement of this Act or whenever there is a vacancy in the Board, the Cabinet Secretary shall, within fourteen days of the occurrence of the vacancy, appoint a Selection Panel for the...
Section 11 - Vacation of, and removal from office
(1) The office of the Chairperson or a member of the Board shall become vacant if the holder— (a) dies; (b) resigns from office, by a notice in writing addressed to the Cabinet Secretary; (c) is...
Section 12 - Staff of the Board
The Cabinet Secretary may in consultation with the Board and upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, second such officers, agents and other staff as may be necessary for the efficient...
Section 13 - Experts and consultants
The Board may engage consultants and experts, as it considers appropriate, to assist in the discharge of its functions under this Act.
Section 14 - Remuneration of the Board
The Chairperson and members of the Board shall be paid such remuneration, fees, allowances and disbursements for expenses as may be approved by the Cabinet Secretary in consultation with the Salaries...
Section 15 - Reporting
(1) The National Education Board shall submit an annual report to the Cabinet Secretary. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), Cabinet Secretary may, at any time, require a report from the National...
Section 16 - Secretary to the Board
(1) The Board shall, through an open, transparent and competitive recruitment process, recommend for appointment by the Cabinet Secretary a suitably qualified person to be the Secretary to the...
Section 17 - County Education Board
(1) There is established a County Education Board for every county. (2) The County Education Board established under subsection (1) shall be an agent of the National Education Board.
Section 18 - Functions of the County Education Boards
(1) The functions of the County Education Board shall be to- (a) oversee in consultation with the county government, the operation and management of youth polytechnics, pre-primary education...
Section 19 - Consultation with National Education Board
(1) In carrying out its functions, the County Education Board shall work in consultation and co-operation with the National Education Board. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), the...
Section 20 - Composition of the County Education Boards
(1) Every County Education Board shall consist of a Chairperson, and twelve other members appointed by the Cabinet Secretary through an open and competitive process and shall include - (a) an...
Section 21 - Conduct of business and affairs of the County Education
(1) The conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the County Education Boards shall be as provided in the Second Schedule. (2) Except as provided in the Second Schedule, the County...
Section 22 - Tenure
(1) The Chairperson shall serve for a term of four years renewable once. (2) The members shall serve for a renewable term of three years. Provided that the Cabinet Secretary shall by regulation,...
Section 23 - Remuneration of the County Education Boards
The members of the County Education Boards shall be paid such allowances and disbursements for expenses as may be approved by the Cabinet Secretary in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration...
Section 24 - Co-option
The County Education Boards may from time to time co-opt into its membership such persons not being more than three as it is satisfied possess skills and experience to assist in the discharge of the...
Section 25 - Committees of the County Education Board
(1) A County Education Board may establish such committees as may be appropriate to perform such functions and discharge such responsibilities as it may determine. (2) Without prejudice to the...
Section 26 - Roles of County Government
(1) The roles of the county government shall include the provision of funds required for the development of the necessary infrastructure for institutions of basic education and training used for...
Section 27 - Role of Sponsor
The role of the Sponsor shall be – (a) to participate and make recommendations of review of syllabus, curriculum, books and other teaching aids; (b) representation in the School Management...
Section 28 - Right of child to free and compulsory
(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall implement the right of every child to free and compulsory basic education. (2) The Cabinet Secretary shall in consultation with the National Education Board and the...
Section 29 - Free tuition
(1) No public school shall charge or cause any parent or, guardian to pay tuition fees for or on behalf of any pupil in the school. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)- (a) tuition fees may be...
Section 30 - Compulsory primary and secondary education
(1) Every parent whose child is – (a) Kenyan; or (b) resides in Kenya shall ensure that the child attends regularly as a pupil at a school, or such other institution as may be authorized and...
Section 31 - Duty of parents and guardian
(1) It shall be the responsibility of every parent or guardian to present for admission or cause to be admitted his or her child, as the case may be, to a basic education institution. (2) Where a...
Section 32 - No payment of fee for admission
No person shall while admitting a child to a public school or a basic education institution collect any admission fee.
Section 33 - Proof of age for admission
(1) For the purpose of admission to a basic education institution, the age of a child shall be determined on the basis of the birth certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of the Births,...
Section 34 - No denial of admission
(1) A child shall be admitted in a school at the commencement of the academic year or within such extended period as may be prescribed. (2) A school or person responsible for admission shall not...
Section 35 - Incentives and prohibition of holding back and expulsion
(1) Pupils shall be given appropriate incentives to learn and complete basic education. (2) No pupil admitted in a school, subject to subsection (3) shall be held back in any class or expelled from...
Section 36 - Prohibition against physical punishment and mental harassment to the child
(1) No pupil shall be subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in any manner, whether physical or psychological. (2) A person who contravenes the provisions of...
Section 37 - Holiday Tuition
(1) No pupil shall be subjected to holiday tuition. (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings...
Section 38 - Prohibition against employment of a child of compulsory school age
(1) No person shall employ a child of compulsory school age in any labour or occupation that prevents such child from attending school. (2) Any person who employs or prevents a child who is subject...
Section 39 - Responsibility of the Government
It shall be the duty of the Cabinet Secretary to – (a) provide free and compulsory basic education to every child; (b) ensure compulsory admission and attendance of children of compulsory school age...
Section 40 - Duty of a principal or head teacher
(1) Where a pupil fails to attend school, the Head Teacher shall cause investigation of the circumstances of the child’s absence from school; (2) Where the Headteacher finds there are no reasonable...
Section 41 - Promotion of education
The Cabinet Secretary shall in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Secretary and other relevant stakeholders promote education and training in Kenya under the following system and structure- (a)...
Section 42 - Structure of education
(1) The system shall be so structured as to enable learners to access education and training at any level in a sequence, and at a pace that may be commensurate with the individual learner’s physical,...
Section 43 - Categories of schools
(1) Basic educational institutions shall be categorised as- (a) public schools which are schools established, owned or operated by the Government and includes sponsored schools; (b) private schools...
Section 44 - Establishment and management of special institutions
(1) Subject to the Constitution and the provisions of this Act, the Cabinet Secretary shall establish and maintain public special schools. (2) The Cabinet Secretary shall provide special needs...
Section 45 - Regulations in special needs education
(1) The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations for the establishment and management of special schools and institutions offering special needs education to pupils with special needs. (2)...
Section 46 - Duty of County education Boards to provide child guidance service
(1) Subject to the Constitution and the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of every County Education Board in consultation with the relevant county government to provide for education...
Section 47 - Report of child with special needs by County Education
(1) It shall be the duty of the County Education Board to consider in relation to each child with special needs belonging to schools in their area, what provision would benefit him or her after he or...
Section 48 - Future provision for children with special needs
(1) A County Education Board shall in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary make such arrangements as they deem fit to enable a pupil with special needs attend an establishment whether or not a...
Section 49 - Establishment of private schools
Subject to the Constitution and the provisions of this Act, any person may establish and maintain a private school.
Section 50 - Registration of private schools
(1) A person shall not establish or maintain a private school unless it is registered under this Act. (2) No private school shall be registered if- (a) the proprietor is disqualified from being a...
Section 51 - Right to attend a private school.
Any person requiring basic education may attend a private school.
Section 52 - Duties and rights of a private school
(1) A private school shall- (a) establish necessary educational and governance structures; (b) recruit registered teachers; (c) comply with and follow the approved curriculum; (d) maintain...