Magoha Reveals Small Cartel Orchestrating Shady Deals At Ministry Of Education.
The Ministry of Education is embroiled in a squabble over allegations that some of its employees misappropriate public funds.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has complained about staff who he claims to orchestrate shady deals since taking office at Jogoo House.
He expresses dissatisfaction with textbook procurement, the accuracy of the National Education Management Information System (Nemis), and the exaggerated unit costing of desks and classrooms.
“There is still a small cartel within my ministry and nobody should be surprised the way I do things. I was in Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) and I made things work.
Questions are now being raised about the “invisible hands” that Prof Magoha claims are stealing ministry resources.
Prof Magoha accuses them of inflating item costs, providing false data on students and schools, and providing inaccurate information about the sector.
The most recent claim is that someone in his office attempted to inflate the cost of constructing classrooms under a project aimed at improving learners’ transition to junior secondary schools.
“If you are saying the same classes cost Sh788,000, where are you taking the rest of the money?”
Prof Magoha raised similar concerns during the procurement of school desks on November 14, 2020. He stated that he had discovered lapses within the ministry in which public funds had been misappropriated.
The CS also accused some of his employees of plotting to steal a portion of the Sh1.9 billion Government Stimulus Programme for school desk delivery.
Magoha Promises To Adress NEMIS Technical Issues, Defends Teachers Over Absenteeism
“When I did due diligence of establishing the market prices of the desks, I realised that the unit cost at the ministry had been inflated by Sh1,700,” said Prof Magoha.
Addressing secondary school heads in June, 2019, the CS said he does not understand the Nemis and could not trust anyone with the details.
“For the next two to three weeks, I will camp at Nemis to understand it because I don’t believe anybody and I don’t believe what they are telling me.”
In a February appearance before the National Assembly Education Committee, Fatuma Chege, the PS State Department for Curriculum Reforms, poked holes in the Nemis, saying, ‘it has issues.
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‘“I found issues being raised about Nemis when I joined the ministry. But we need a new data base for our function of monitoring and evaluating learners across the entire education system,” said Ms Chege.
According to the PS, Nemis only aligns with primary and secondary education and does not cover pre-primary, tertiary, or university education.
Prof Magoha has frequently questioned students’ and schools’ data at the ministry regarding textbook distribution.
Ministry Exposes NEMIS Hiccups Seeks New Data System For Learners. Magoha Reveals Small Cartel Orchestrating Shady Deals At Ministry Of Education
Magoha Reveals Small Cartel Orchestrating Shady Deals At Ministry Of Education
