Margaret Kobia is a Kenyan who was nominated by President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

as Cabinet Secretary for the Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, on 26 January 2018. Prior to her current position, she served as the Chairperson of th
Kenya Public Service Commission
, from December 2012 until January 2018.

Background and education

Margaret was born in the year 1958 in present-day

Meru County Meru County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located in the former Eastern Province. The county lies between 0° 6′ North and 0° 1′ South and between latitudes 37° West and 38° East. It borders Isiolo County to the North, Tharaka/Nit ...

. Her mother was a farmer and housewife and her father was a police officer. She is the first-born in a family of seven siblings, five sisters and two brothers. Margaret attended ''Mariinya-A-Ruibi Primary School''. She then studied at

Alliance Girls High School Alliance Girls' High School (AGHS) is a public national boarding school for girls located near the small town of Kikuyu in the Kiambu District of the Central Province of Kenya, 20 km from Nairobi. Founded in 1948 as the African Girls High S ...

, which she joined in 1972, for both her O-Level and A-Level education, graduating in 1977. In 1979, she was admitted to the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

(BEd) degree. In 1990, she was admitted to

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 ...

, where she obtained a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

(MEd) degree, specializing in teacher education, in 1991. Later, in 2003, she graduated with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) degree, in Human Resource Education and Entrepreneurship, from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, where she studied on scholarship.

Career

Right after her first degree, Margaret started teaching at Ngara Girls' High School in 1981. After six years at Ngara, she joined the

Kenya National Examinations Council The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is the national body responsible for overseeing national examinations in Kenya. Its current chairman is Professor John Onsati. This council was established under the Kenya National Examinations Council ...

(KNEC) as a research officer and test developer. In 1992, Margaret was appointed Senior Lecturer in Education at Kenya Science Teachers’ College. Then in 1996, she moved to Kenyatta University as the Acting Deputy Registrar and the Director of the Students’ Welfare Services Board. In 2002, she was appointed Assistant Commission Secretary at the then Commission for Higher Education, now Commission for University Education. She then returned to teaching, at

Strathmore University Strathmore University is a chartered university based in Nairobi, Kenya. ...

, as a senior lecturer in Management, Entrepreneurship and Research Methodology. In 2005, Kobia was appointed the director, Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA), now Kenya School of Government, serving in that capacity until 2012, when she was appointed the chairperson of the Kenya Public Service Commission, the first Kenyan woman to serve in that position.

Family

Margaret Kobia a married mother of three children, one son and two daughters.

Other considerations

Professor Margaret Kobia has received a number of awards, including the "Order of Grand Warrior" (OGW), the order of "Chief of Burning Spear" (CBS) and the "Commonwealth Gordon Draper Award". She was elected as the Vice President and board member of the ''Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management'' (CAPAM), in October 2014. She is a fellow at the ''Kenya Institute of Management'' and at the ''Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya''.

References

External links