Prof George Magoha; the exemplary educationist who transformed KNEC

To begin with, on CS Dr. Fred Matiang’i commendable job, you have said it all. I have little if anything to add. Kudos sir.

But most of us appear to have forgotten another key man whose job at the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) may be the actual force behind the new changes that have forever revolutionized our education sector.

The forgotten man behind the big story.

Appointed KNEC Board chair eight months ago, Prof George A. O. Magoha has distinguished himself as one of the most decorated academicians and higher education administrators of our times.

Born in 1952, Prof. Magoha is the immediate former Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi (UoN), since January 2005 to January 2015 and a Professor of Surgery and a Consultant Urologist, College of Health Sciences, UoN.

He is the current President of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) from August 2013 and will serve in this capacity for a period of 2 years. He is also the Chairman of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) from 2009 to date and has been a member of the board from 1999. He has been Chairman of Kenya Association of Urological Surgeons (KAUS) from the year 1997 to 2013 and also the immediate former President of the Association of African Universities (AAU) where he served from 2011 to 2013. He has been a member of the AAU executive board from 2005 to date.

Prof. Magoha has also been a commissioner in the Commission for Higher Education (CHE), currently, the Commission for University Education (CUE) from 2005 to 2013.

But perhaps Prof. Magoha’s most visible
achievement is his celebrated stint as the University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor.

Whereas the guy took over as UoN boss when the institution was undergoing the most turbulent times in history, Prof.Magoha succeeded in his mission of restoring sanity at Kenya’s premier institution of higher learning.

Today, even a Nairobi downtown street layman who has never been to a university lecture hall will tell you that the UoN of today is a total contrast of the UoN of early 2000s when Prof.Magoha took over.

For record purposes, Prof Magoha was my Vice Chancellor throughout the time I was a student at UoN and I am a living witness of how good an administrator the good old Prof can be.

I am therefore happy that the entire country is now enjoying Prof Magoha’s exemplary administrative skills, barely an year after he was made KNEC boss.

Go, go, go Prof. Tuko nyuma yako.