Kilemi Mwiria

I hold a doctorate degree in international education from Stanford University, a master’s degree in comparative education from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nairobi. Between 2003 and 2013, I served as Kenya’s Assistant Minister for Education and Higher Education, Science & Technology. I was an elected Member of Kenya’s National Assembly (parliament) during the same period. Before then, I was an education consultant and academic in Kenya (Kenyatta University), and South Africa (University of the Witwatersrand). I have researched and published widely in education and politics in both academic journals and the popular media. Of most interest to me are policies revolving around: equitable access to quality education at all levels of the system; harmonization and transparency in academic classifications; secondary and higher education; education governance; school-related gender-based violence; project evaluation and training; and lifelong learning. I have consulted widely for governments and local and international donors in sub-Saharan Africa. Between July 2014 and March 2017, I served as the senior advisor for education in the Executive Office of the President, Republic of Kenya. In August 2017, I contested for the political position of Governor of Meru County, Kenya, but was unsuccessful. I have recently been a board member of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning (UIL), and Adjunct Professor/Associate Scholar with the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies. I am currently the Chair of the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA). Experience & Competence I have researched and consulted on peace education, higher education, governance, and social policy; education sector assessments; development plans and sector policies; conduct of project identification, preparation and completion missions; design, development and implementation of project proposals on research, training and research dissemination; co-ordination (administration) of regional, sub- regional and national training and dissemination programmes; project evaluations; training; conduct of social science research; preparation and review of commissioned and other papers; organization of regional, sub-regional and national research training and dissemination workshops and conferences; and the administration of regional & national donor supported projects.