Christopher Situma Khaemba is a Kenyan

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and the former Dean of the

African Leadership Academy The African Leadership Academy (ALA) is an educational institution located in the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, for students between the ages of 16 to 19 years old, with current alumni coming from 46 countries. Founded in 2004 by ...

(ALA) in South Africa. Khaemba became the first Dean of the ALA in September 2008, moving from his role as principal of Alliance High School in Kenya to take up the position. Before that he had served as Principal of

Friends School Kamusinga Friends School Kamusinga (FSK), popularly known as Kamu/Frischka, is a Kenyan Quaker national school established in 1956 and located in Kimilili, Bungoma County, Kenya. The school is located 400 kilometres from Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. It ...

for three years and Alliance for 10 years.

Early life

Khaemba attended

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Nairobi County, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of O ...

, Nairobi, graduating with an MBA. He was an officer and pilot with the

Kenya Air Force The Kenya Air Force (KAF) or sw, Jeshi la Wanahewa is the national aerial warfare service branch of the Republic of Kenya. The main airbase operating fighters is Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki, while Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi is the he ...

before quitting in 1984 and moving into teaching.

Alliance High School

He joined the teaching staff at Alliance High School as a

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

teacher, remaining there for the next 14 years. During that time, he rose up through the ranks to become principal. He was appointed by the government as principal of

in 1995 to address the declining standards in the school, which he achieved within three years, and was recalled being the principal of Alliance again in 1998. Under Khaemba's term as Principal, Alliance was consistently ranked within the top ten best performing schools in the

Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is an academic qualification taken at the completion of secondary education in Kenya. The first KCSE exam was held in 1989 at the same time as the last Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (K ...

African Leadership Academy

Khaemba was head-hunted to be the inaugural

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 2008. The founders of the school, who include

Fred Swaniker Fred Swaniker (born 1976) is a Ghanaian serial entrepreneur and leadership development expert on a mission to help the world's most extraordinary talent fulfil its potential. Swaniker recognized the importance of leadership and education while s ...

(CEO), Acha Leke and

Peter Mobaur Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, chose Khaemba through a seven-month process, and stated that Khaemba stood out due to his record at Alliance High School and Kamusinga. , Khaemba sits on the Global Advisory Board of the ALA, and still supports the school with fundraising and alumni support.

Later career

Khaemba was appointed Education Advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister of Kenya in January 2012. He served in that position till April 2013, when a new Government was formed, and the office of the Prime Minister abolished. He moved to the Teachers Service Commission where he served as Deputy Director of Teacher Management for four months, until September 2013, when he was appointed to serve on the Nairobi City County cabinet as the Executive in charge of Education, Youth Affairs and Social Services. In February 2016, Khaemba was moved to the Urban Planning and Lands sector as the Executive in charge.

Nova Pioneer

In 2015, in collaboration with Oliver Sabot, Oliver Rothschild and Chinezi Chijioke, Khaemba established a new educational program in Kenya,

Nova Pioneer A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

, based on the African Leadership Academy model of an academic curriculum with additional leadership programs. The first Nova Pioneer School opened in January 2016 with 128 male students. A girls' school, Nova Pioneer Girls High School, opened in January 2017, while Nova Pioneer Primary - Tatu City opened in 2018. By September 2022, Nova Pioneer had six campuses in Kenya.

References

"Inaugural Dean of African Leadership Academy",African Leadership Academy, 2 June 2010

"SABC Interview with Dean Christopher Khaemba (Part 1)", www.headlinesafrica.com, 25 March 2009

Alliance High School, 26 September 2008

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, 27 September 2007

"World-Class Secondary School Seeks Africa's Most Outstanding Young Leaders", GhanaWeb, 12 September 2007

"Christopher Khaemba Named Inaugural Dean", African Leadership Academy, May 2007

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081010170156/http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/export/system/galleries/ala/ala_download/African_Examples_Khaemba.pdf "African Examples: Christopher Khaemba", The Sunday Standard, 25 December 2005]
World Economic Formum, [Undated]

External links

Commission for Higher Education in Kenya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khaemba, Christopher Kenyan educators Living people Kenyatta University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)