CS Ogamba Given Seven Days to Release Report on 50,000 ‘Ghost’ Learners.
The Ministry of Education is under pressure to release the verification report on public schools implicated in the “ghost learners” audit, which showed over 50,000 non-existent students in government records.
Tunza Mtoto Coalition, through the law firm of Ashioya Mogire and Nkatha Advocates, has given the Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogamba, 7 days to release the names of the schools, the extent of enrolment irregularities, and the full findings of the verification exercise. The group wants the ministry to make the full report public, in accordance with constitutional principles of transparency and accountability.
This follows revelations by Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Dr Julius Bitok, who in September said an internal audit had found over 50,000 ghost learners in secondary schools. Dr Bitok warned that the figure could rise as the audit progresses.
At the approved annual funding rate of KSh22,244 per learner, the figure translates to an estimated loss of KSh1.1 billion in capitation funds. The duration the inflated enrolment figures have been in the system is not known.
Last month, Cabinet Secretary Ogamba confirmed that at least 29 schools had not received capitation funds due to pending registration queries arising from the ongoing verification of school and learner records. He did not however, provide the names or further details of the affected schools.
In their letter to the Ministry, Tunza Mtoto Coalition said Dr Bitok’s statement indicated “serious irregularities suggestive of fraud, corruption and potential loss of public funds contrary to the principles of public finance management enshrined in the Constitution.” The group said the Ministry “has a legal and constitutional obligation of transparency and accountability to make public the full findings of the verification exercise.”
When he appeared before the National Assembly’s Committee on Education in September, Dr Bitok said the audit covered a sample of 12,000 schools and the verification process had caused delays in the disbursement of capitation funds to public schools.
The coalition noted that after capitation funds were released, the verification exercise seemed to have been completed, and therefore the report should be made public. They also want a detailed statement on the administrative, disciplinary, or criminal action taken against any ministry officials, school heads, or other persons involved in the scam. And asked for measures to be put in place to prevent future manipulation of enrolment data in school funding. Failure to comply within the given timeframe, they will file a petition under Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act to compel disclosure and pursue accountability, recovery, and restitution of the misappropriated public funds.
Dr Bitok said inflated figures are most prevalent in secondary schools, and once the verification is done, the number of learners in public schools could go down by about 10%. He said the ongoing national clean-up exercise covers about 32,000 schools and is 60% complete.
Members of Parliament and education stakeholders have demanded that all officials and school heads found guilty be taken to task. The Ministry of Education has said those found guilty will face sanctions under the Public Service disciplinary framework.
This is not the first time inflated enrollment records have been uncovered. In 2020, the late Education CS Professor George Magoha reported there were about 500,000 ghost pupils in primary schools.
In September this year, the government introduced new measures to govern the disbursement of capitation funds to basic education institutions after a special audit by the Office of the Auditor-General. The audit had found that 33 non-existent schools received billions of shillings over four years.
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To prevent further irregularities, the Ministry of Education has directed all public schools to meet new eligibility criteria before receiving government funding. These are: confirmation of formal registration by the County Education Board, appointment of a substantive principal by the Teachers Service Commission, provision of an official appointment letter for the principal, and submission of a forwarding letter from the Sub-County Director of Education.
The Ministry has also introduced assessment and index numbers as additional learner identifiers to complement the existing Unique Personal Identifier to enhance accuracy in learner registration and capitation management.
CS Ogamba Given Seven Days to Release Report on 50,000 ‘Ghost’ Learners.
