A bill is presently in Parliament seeking to amend the Elections Act to make it mandatory to have at least a basic degree to vie for parliamentary elections. The Elections Amendment Bill 2015, prepared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, also requires members of the county assemblies to have at least a diploma of education.
There are laudable reasons behind this bill. To begin with, Kenyans have in the recent past witnessed an alarming deterioration in the quality of debates in Parliament. The rise of devolution and county assemblies has exacerbated this situation, with critics ascribing to lack of education the poor quality of debates and bills at both Parliament and county assemblies.
Parliament has more than 300 lawmakers yet it has failed to impress Kenyans. Critics have faulted Parliament for passing bills haphazardly, with minimum scrutiny to correct errors or inconsistencies, only to discover this after the enactment into law. The recent example is the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2015 which provided for the President to pick the Chief Justice from a list of three names – not one – from the Judicial Service Commission.
In Parliament, the principle of absolute majority has contributed to the watering down of quality debates and the enactment of bills beneficial to Kenyans. Bipartisan politics and consensus building has largely been jettisoned for partisan politics. Consensus building has worked only in those matters that have benefitted MPs, like salaries, remunerations and welfare services. Parliament has also been under siege on allegations of bribery and corruption within ranks in its oversight committees.
All this is happening at a time Parliament has some of the most educated individuals in Kenya’s history. This raises the question: Does education matter in electoral politics?
Years back in the 1970s and 1980s, Parliamentary debates were a necessity to listen to. Citizens flocked to the Public Gallery at Parliament Buildings while others waited fervently in the evenings to listen to recorded (and edited) Parliamentary proceedings aired over the then Voice of Kenya Radio in a programme called “Today in Parliament” or the Swahili version “Leo Katika Bunge”.
Even though Kenya was then a single-party state, the quality of debates in the August House was amazing. Our legislators risked arrest, detention or even death to debate national issues not vendetta. Why is Parliament losing its past glory at a time when education is increasingly regarded as the panacea to good political leadership and quality debates and lawmaking in Parliament and in the county assemblies?
We certainly need education as a form of enlightenment. An educated society is an enlightened society. Education provides the knowledge and capacity to reason, question authority and make informed decisions and choices. We need educated people to work in the professions – in government, NGOs, international institutions and in the private sector. We also need education to discover new things from research and development.
Unfortunately, some of the educated Kenyans, especially those who have been elected to political positions to represent the people, or those who have been fortunate to be appointed to serve in the public and private sectors, have hugely failed Kenyans. They have been part and parcel of corrupt and bribery allegations, tribalism and nepotism afflicting the instructions they serve.
This is why Parliament has to rethink the IEBC Amendment Bill which prescribes education levels to elective positions. The assumption is that a basic degree for Parliament or a diploma for county assembly is the panacea to a better political leadership. One would be able to articulate issues and pass bills knowledgeably.
This is what was to be expected when it was prescribed that for one to be governor, one had to possess a basic degree. With better education, so it was argued, governors would be able to offer better leadership and propel the counties to prosperity through prudent management of human and financial resources. Four years downhill, this is yet to be realised.
Until the recent era of devolution, degrees or diplomas were not a necessity to vie for political seats. Form Four standard of education generally served the purpose. Some of the legislators were even below this level of education, yet they were unequalled in terms of integrality, articulation of issues and the enactment of laws beneficial to Kenyans.
The issue was about good education, not just education as it is presently the case.
Undeniably, education is a necessity – we need it in the professions and in the development of this nation. Politics is not a profession. Anyone can venture into politics and be able to offer wisdom and a vision for the people.
By placing higher levels of education to elective political positions, the IEBC is attempting to deny the vast majority of Kenyans their inalienable right to seek political leadership. Ultimately, the proposed legislations is seeking to create an aristocratic society in which the educated class loads it over the majority.