Senators are calling for full accountability from the Ministry of Education following revelations in a damning audit report that exposed severe mismanagement of capitation funds allocated to public schools—raising alarm over ghost institutions, defunct facilities, and chronic underfunding.
In a heated Senate session on Wednesday, Kajiado Senator Kanar Seki condemned the Ministry for what he described as a “betrayal of the Kenyan people,” citing data that uncovered sweeping irregularities across the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 fiscal years.
Audit Findings Include:
- Sh71 billion withheld from secondary schools
- Sh31 billion denied to junior secondary schools
- Sh14 billion shorted from primary institutions
- Sh67 billion diverted from special needs learners
- Sh16 billion paid to 14 ghost schools
- Continued funding for 6 defunct schools
“These revelations raise fundamental questions about transparency and accountability within the Ministry of Education and related agencies,” said Seki, adding that the billions in misallocated funds came as public schools grappled with teacher shortages, dilapidated infrastructure, and delayed disbursements.
Call for Urgent Reform
The audit also flagged the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) for failing to prevent fraudulent entries, prompting Seki to demand a full-scale review and cleanup of the database.
Senator Seki urged the Senate Standing Committee on Education—chaired by Senator Betty Montet—to outline concrete recovery measures, verify NEMIS entries, and ensure capitation funds are directed only to operational institutions.
He pressed for the identification and prosecution of officials from both the Ministry of Education and the National Treasury who approved or facilitated the illegal payments.
Education Sector in Crisis
With the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum straining junior secondary schools, Senators say the current state of funding jeopardizes quality education and national development.
The committee now faces mounting pressure to recommend safeguards against future misuse—including systemic audits, stronger data integrity checks, and real-time fund tracking mechanisms.
