• Under its new mandate, the Kenya School of Communication will be empowered to acquire property, sue and be sued, borrow funds, and even form subsidiaries or joint ventures. 

The Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), long regarded as the cradle of East Africa’s leading journalists, is set for a major transformation under new legislation that will rebrand it as the Kenya School of Communication.

The Kenya School of Communication Bill, 2025, published on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 seeks to repeal the 2011 order that established KIMC and replace it with a corporate body mandated to modernise media training, expand academic programmes, and strengthen research and professional certification in communication.

For decades, the South B-based institution has been the training ground for some of Kenya’s most celebrated broadcasters, editors, filmmakers, and communication specialists. The proposed changes are designed to elevate it from a mid-level technical training institute to a multidisciplinary academy with regional and global relevance.

The draft law provides for seamless legal continuity. All contracts, liabilities, assets, and pending matters tied to KIMC will automatically be transferred to the new school, with existing council members, the director, and staff retaining their positions and terms of service. The pension scheme will also remain intact.

Under its new mandate, the Kenya School of Communication will be empowered to acquire property, sue and be sued, borrow funds, and even form subsidiaries or joint ventures. Its academic portfolio will expand to include postgraduate diplomas, specialised media and communication training, consultancy, research, and continuous professional development programmes.

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“The School shall provide education, training, and professional development in communication, creative arts, and mass media,” the bill reads, signalling an evolution from a purely technical institution into a fully-fledged communication academy.

The school will be governed by a new Council appointed by the President and the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and Digital Economy. The Director General, who will lead the institution, must hold a postgraduate degree and have at least ten years’ professional experience in communication, finance, law, or education.

If enacted, the legislation will usher in a new era for Kenya’s oldest state-owned media training institute, aligning it with the fast-changing demands of the communication industry.