Members of Parliament (MPs), Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Education have supported a Bill that seeks to embed national values into the school curriculum.

The various stakeholders termed the Education Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 -sponsored by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, seeks to actualise Article 10 of the Constitution as a game changer that will transform the education sector once it is actualised.

MPs who sit in the education committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, said the bill will bring the necessary reforms to instil a sense of shared identity and responsibility among young Kenyans, and to build a future generation that is both values-driven and economically empowered.

While meeting, Omondi said once the bill is enacted, it should be made mandatory that all civil servants in the public service take a six-month course on the same.

Omondi, who defended the bill, disclosed that its implementation will cost taxpayers Sh320 million, according to analysis done by the Budget Committee.

Omondi explained that the Bill’s key innovations are the formal introduction of a subject area described as “nationhood science”, which combines civic education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and responsibilities of citizenship.

He said the bill will go a long way in instilling values among Kenyans and learners once implemented.

He said: “Nationhood science means we want to inculcate what the framers of the Constitution wanted all the way from lower levels to tertiary levels. “This is about Nationhood Science – the subject about the soul and heart of Kenya, and which, if implemented, will put Kenya on the path to achieve greatness.”

Said Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo, who was the sessional chair: “I think that should be introduced even at the see I’ve level. All civil servants and those in public service should take a 6-month course. Because the vice happens at the point of employment after school.

Kibra MP Peter Orero, who supported the bill, however, sought to know the cost implication should it be implemented.

He said: “I think the idea is very good. Are we going to have a formative and or a summative assessment for this? What is the cost implication,n and are we going to retool and reskill our teachers?”

Narok Woman representative Rebecca Tonkei termed the bill as very progressive and one that will change the education sector.

The Bill seeks to amend four key pieces of legislation — the Universities Act, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Act, the Basic Education Act, and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) Act — in a move that Caroli say will align the education sector with Article 10 of the Constitution.