Kisumu County’s ECD regulations launch marks a shift towards implementing standards for early learning and child welfare.
The new framework sets out requirements for ECD centres and daycare facilities, covering registration, learning environments, nutrition and child welfare.
Kisumu County has launched its 2026 Early Childhood Development (ECD) regulations, setting out a framework for managing early learning centres and daycare facilities and improving services for young children.
The regulations are designed to put the county’s Early Childhood Development Education Act, 2023, into practice. They cover the establishment and registration of centres, learning infrastructure, nutrition programmes and children’s general welfare.
County officials said the framework would turn the law’s provisions into practical measures for centres across Kisumu. The county described it as one of the most comprehensive county-level regulatory frameworks for the ECD sector.
Registration and learning standards
County Executive Committee Member for Education, Technical Training, Innovation and Social Services John Awiti said the launch marked an important step towards building a stronger foundation for early childhood education.
Awiti said the regulations would guide how ECD centres are established and registered, while setting standards for the environments in which children learn. Nutrition and feeding programmes also form part of the framework.
The regulations bring these requirements together under an operational structure intended to strengthen the management, quality and delivery of early childhood education. Their scope covers both education services and the welfare of children attending the facilities.
Nutrition and overall development
County Chief Officer for Education, Technical Training, Innovation and Social Services Bovince Ochieng said implementation would prioritise environments that support learning alongside children’s broader development.
He emphasised the importance of proper feeding and nutrition at an early age, saying the county’s approach would consider children’s mental, psychological and academic development, as well as their well-being.
Ochieng also identified suitable infrastructure and an appropriate curriculum as essential to achieving the regulations’ objectives. His remarks placed classroom conditions and learning content alongside nutrition as key elements of implementation.
He said delivering the framework would require the county government to coordinate with education stakeholders and partners working in the ECD sector.
Focus shifts to implementation
Director of Education in charge of Early Childhood Wilikister Odera said attention would now turn to putting the Act and the new regulations into effect. She committed to leading those working on the ground towards full implementation.
Odera said the county would engage partners to identify opportunities for collaboration across the different parts of the framework. The aim, she said, was to ensure that all its components were put into practice.
Assembly leaders and county executive officials attending the launch pledged support for implementation. They said the regulations would provide a legal basis for coordinating ECD activities, child welfare programmes and partnerships in the sector.
As implementation begins, the county government is expected to work with centre managers, teachers, parents, development partners and other stakeholders. That coordination will bring together those responsible for managing facilities, supporting learning and advancing children’s welfare under the new framework.
