Education, Human Capital Development And Vocational Training

Hon. Martin Opere Odhiambo brings deep, hands-on experience in education management to the Homa Bay County Cabinet. A career educator, he served as the Principal of Fr. Tillen Mixed Secondary School in Mbita, Homa Bay County — a position that gave him direct insight into the county's education challenges and the needs of students and teachers at the grassroots level. Before his appointment, Opere was well-known in education circles both locally and nationally. As Deputy Chairperson of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, he had experience advocating for school leaders at a national level. He came to the CEC with a clear agenda: improving the quality and enrolment in vocational training centres, rolling out school feeding programmes as promised by Governor Wanga during the election campaign, and revamping early childhood education infrastructure. Under his watch, the Department of Education has implemented the ambitious Genowa Ondoa Kaunda ECDE Classroom Initiative — constructing hundreds of new early years classrooms across the county — and launched the Fins to Swim Scholarship Programme to support youth in higher education. The department has also rolled out a bursary fund to support students in high school, vocational training, college and university.