Tough-talking, a man of action, charismatic, and resilient.
These are the words that best describe George Magoha after he was nominated to be the next Education CS.
Magoha, if confirmed, will take over from ambassador Amina Mohammed who was moved to the Sports Ministry in the latest cabinet reshuffle announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday.
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But who exactly is Magoha?
Born in 1952, Magoha was the
former Vice Chancellor at the University of Nairobi where he became the first public servant to be competitively appointed, serving for 10 years until 2015.
At UoN, he is credited to have transformed the institution from being rocked by student hooliganism to a leading institution of higher learning in Kenya and internationally.
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Magoha's record as a no-nonsense education administrator saw him appointed by Uhuru as the chairman of the Kenya National Examination
Council in 2016.
His immediate task was to reform the council to arrest the widespread academic dishonesty and corruption in the administration of national examinations.
Praises
Known by his many directives in the ministry when he was Knec boss, Magoha has earned a place in the hearts of many Kenyans.
"Prof George Magoha deserves that position,"
@RoadAlertsKE said.
User @AnnLorna1 said the nomination of Magoha as Education CS was long overdue.
"The best nomination is that of my former VC. We need to see axes fall on the corrupt CS's and other govt officials/public servants and make sure we recover all the cash looted," she said.
@Salomelugard said "Our good professor George Magoha is the best for Education Ministry anyway. I hope he will be given a good environment to fix the ministry. No politicking."
"George Magoha was running the ministry behind the scene. He deserves Amina was just joking around running education kama "chama ya wamama,"
@AmedoShair said.
@HonElisha said"Congratulations
Magoha. You are equal to the task. The people of Gem are forever glad for your resilience and hard work!"
"Thank you Mr president. We can't thank you enough for appointing George Magoha to be the CS of Education.
Our Education standards are bound to improve,"
@wanjikumugane said.
Magoha, the man whose 80-page CV has a table of contents (and names of 53 countries he’s visited)
is credited to have dismantled cartels that had propagated exam cheating for years and restored the credibility of exams in Kenya.
Under his watch, Knec experienced various changes including fast marking of exams and the purchase of 415 containers to secure examinations.
Knec
was seen as having an exemplary technocrat who is not a push-over. He is a man of intellectual substance and proven management acumen.
He had also warned closure of schools involving in exam cheating and its management held responsible.
In November 2018, during the release of KCSE results, Magoha blamed parents for failing to spend enough time with their children which lead to the cause of early pregnancies.
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Magoha’s term as KNEC chair was to end this March, after three years of service until Uhuru granted him a promotion to be at the helm of the Education sector.
Aside from being the head of the examination body in the Education ministry, the professor also headed the Commission for University Education, a reign that ended in 2013 after his appointment in 2005.
The no-nonsense Magoha, who is a business graduate from Stanford University, was awarded the titles Moran of the Burning Spear and Elder of the Burning Spear by Uhuru.
Aside from the education sector, the surgeon has headed bodies such as Association of Medical Councils of Africa and Kenya Association of Urological Surgeons.
He is currently also the Kenya Medical
Practitioners and
Dentists Board chairman.
Can he bring the same changes he has done over the years to Jogoo House? Well, this is what some Kenyans on Twitter said on Friday.
"KNEC CEO George Magoha occupying the Education CS seat is a good way to kick of March. At least he seems promising and he has been in this field long enough,"@MainaNjoki019 said.
He added "... now can we see a transformation in this ministry that was on the edge of collapsing."
User @LabanWanyama1 said "appointment of George Magoha is welcome. In fact he was supposed to succeed Matiang'i."
"George magoha" is another matiang'i mark my words education sector will be awesome,"
@emmanuelk584 said.
@enochcheruiyot1 said "Much respect to Uhuru Kenyatta for the appointment of Prof George Magoha to the Education docket. The man is tougher than Matiangi!"
"I have waited for long, Prof George Magoha is the right guy for Education,"
@LyshTetyoo said.
@AmedoShair said "Prof. George Magoha fits the bill. He has been instrumental in educational reforms since is tenure at the university of Nairobi. One sane thing that this crooked government has done."
"I am thrilled to hear of Prof. George Magoha’s appointment as CS in the Ministry of Education! His legacy at the University of Nairobi is there for all to see. Congratulations Prof.! I wish you the very best in your new responsibility,"
@ReginaldOduor said.
Leaders such as Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Homa Bay MP Gladys Wanga have congratulated Magoha over the new role allocated to him.