The professor died after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Nairobi home on Tuesday.
The mention of the name Magoha was always associated with the Competency Based Curriculum which is in its seventh year.
Despite criticism from education stakeholders, politicians, teachers and even some students, he maintained his stand.
Magoha stressed that CBC is the future but constant politics surrounding its implementation is scaring parents and other stakeholders.
“CBC is here to stay. And if in future you want to change it, you must give us a credible alternative,” he said.
Within the implementation of CBC, Magoha oversaw construction of 10,000 classrooms in less than a year.
He adopted a hands on-skills approach to monitor and verify the construction of these classrooms across the country.
Since the onset of the construction, Magoha would visit at least three schools daily, and he would do this from Monday to Friday.
Many questioned why Magoha visited schools instead of delegating the work to junior officers, a tradition he said was acquired at Starehe Boys.
“Even when you delegate, you don’t delegate duties completely because you will lose control,” the CS said.
Still on classrooms construction, Magoha managed to regulate and harmonise the price of classroom construction.
He said previously, classrooms were constructed at Sh1.2 million each.
“I hope that we don’t go back to basically stealing almost Sh500,000 from every classroom because you are stealing that money from a child,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Education, 8,300 classrooms were constructed across the country at Sh788,000 each.
This meant the total budget is Sh6.5 billion at the subsidised price, which would have initially been Sh9.9 billion.
The CS who previously served at KNEC gave journalists a run for their time, during his tenure.
After Form 1 placement, journalists would follow him to remote areas where he picked students who had not been admitted to school.
He visited slums in Kiandutu, Kibra, Dandora and picked students who were still at home.
The students would be identified with the help of chiefs, sub-chiefs and subcounty directors.
After being picked up by the CS, they would then be enrolled in the nearest secondary school, under the government scholarship.
To curb ghost schools and students, Magoha launched a reengineered National Education Management Information System.
Audit reports previously cited loopholes in the system being used by corrupt officials to exploit the government capitation process.
The new system to be piloted in primary and secondary schools from August 29 will expose the data to directors of education at county, subcounty and regional levels.
Even ministry officials are able to access it making editing difficult.
“Processes relating to the learner are captured on the system from their enrolment to their graduation,” Magoha said when he launched the system at the KICD in Nairobi.
Magoha, who served as University of Nairobi vice-chancellor from January 2005 to January 2015, said that kind of leadership does not apply in government.
During his tenure as CS, Magoha tried to reduce instances of cheating during national exams.
He introduced measures including ban of phones in exam room and money was not allowed in students' pockets.
The Starehe Boys Alumni also ensured teachers spent less time with papers after picking them from exam centres.
On leaving a legacy, Magoha said as Education minister, he ensured all money leaking from Jogoo House stopped, saying they sealed the gap.
“You might argue that the schools are full but even this year we have achieved 100 per cent transition and the animal called CBC.
The CS said it was not easy to be Education minister during Covid-19 pandemic but they collectively as a government, managed the education system and ensured no time was lost.
The Nairobi Hospital disclosed how the former Education CS Magoha died.
In a statement by the CEO James Nyamongo, Magoha first collapsed at home.
He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him failed.
"It is with great regret that we announce the sudden and untimely demise of Professor George Magoha this evening at The Nairobi Hospital," Nairobi Hospital CEO James Nyamongo said in a statement.
He was an educationist. He was a proud surgeon and father. He loved his job, especially in the education sector.
-Edited by SKanyara
