Governance and Organisational Structure: Headquarters, Regional and District Directorates
Domain 2: Governance and Organisational Structure
This domain tests how GES is organised from Headquarters to school level, who reports to whom, and which level handles which decision.
Core structure
- Headquarters: led by the Director-General (chief executive) with Deputy Directors-General and directorates/divisions. Headquarters handles national policy implementation, coordination, standards, finance, human resource policy, procurement, audit, legal affairs, public relations, and oversight of basic, secondary, TVET and special education.
- Regional Directorates: headed by a Regional Director of Education. They coordinate and monitor districts, interpret national directives, manage regional personnel and finance matters within delegated limits, and report to Headquarters.
- District Directorates: headed by a District Director of Education. They are the direct link to schools: supervision, posting of teachers within the district, school inspection, data collection, capitation and programme coordination, and support to School Management Committees (SMCs).
- School level: the headteacher/headmaster manages the school; the SMC provides community oversight; the PTA supports but does not manage the school.
- Accountability line: school to district to region to Headquarters to MoE. Circuit supervisors operate at district level, not regional level.
Worked example
A headteacher needs an additional teacher because enrolment has risen. The headteacher should write through the SMC to the District Director. The district human resource unit checks the school's staffing establishment, enrolment data and payroll capacity. If the post is within the district's delegated authority, the District Director posts a teacher; if not, the district forwards the request to the Regional Directorate and Headquarters. The headteacher does not recruit directly, and the PTA cannot create a GES post.
Traps that cost marks
- Placing circuit supervisors at the regional directorate.
- Assuming the PTA employs teachers; it may support but GES controls posting.
- Reversing the reporting line: the Regional Director does not report to the District Director.
- Confusing the GES Council's oversight role with day-to-day management by the Director-General.
- Treating Headquarters directorates as separate agencies rather than divisions of one Service.