Public primary school heads have accused the Ministry of Education of inflating enrolment figures and creating ghost students and learning institutions, a situation that has led to the loss of Sh4 billion in funding.
During the Kenya Primary Schools Headteachers Association (Kepsha) conference in Mombasa, participants said it is wrong for the ministry to keep shifting blame on teachers when it has deployed officers in counties and sub-counties.
Their complaints were made minutes after State Department for Basic Education Director-General Elyas Abdi said the outcome of the recent audit on public schools and learners would be released today.
State Department for Basic Education Director-General Elyas Abdi during the 2025 Kenya Primary School Heads Association Annual Delegates Conference in Mombasa on November 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
Dr Abdi said the report would be released by Education Cabinet Secretary Ogamba and Principal Secretary Julius Bitok during the official opening of the summit.
Acting ICT chief of the ICT Directorate at the State Department of Basic Education, Paul Odhiambo, said schools that had not received funds were verified and cleared for payment by November 10.
“We found schools that had submitted data using the wrong formats and others that appeared not to have submitted anything. Upon closer inspection, however, we realised some had submitted information but used incorrect identification codes,” Mr Odhiambo said.
He explained that the verification involved three digital links shared with heads of institutions, sub-county directors of education and ministry officials.
The first link was sent to headteachers to capture institutional biodata, enrolment figures and Global Positioning System coordinates to enable ICT personnel in the ministry to locate the schools digitally.
The second link went to sub-county education bosses who were tasked with mapping schools in their areas.
The third was at the Ministry headquarters. It was accessible to the ICT Directorate, the PS, the Director-General and other top officials.
“It is good to understand this. It is painful to have thousands of schools categorised as not having submitted data when they did so, only that they may have got it wrong,” he said.
The teachers protested, saying that keeping accurate records is the responsibility of the government.
From left: Ministry of Education Directors Dr William Sugut (Senior School), Dr Elyas Abdi (Director General), Stephen Barongo (Primary) and Hassan Duale (Junior Secondary) during the 2025 Kenya Primary School Heads Association Annual Delegates Conference in Mombasa on November 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
“It is absurd to hear the ministry blame headteachers for inflating enrolment numbers yet government officials everywhere,” a head from Nairobi said.
Before a school is given funds, there is validation to ensure it is formally registered by the County Education Board and the Teachers Service Commission has posted a substantive head to it.
A school applying for funding for the first time must attach the necessary documents, including the original Free Day Secondary Education-filled-up application form, a valid registration certificate, minutes of a Board of Management meeting, opening a school account and specifying the signatories of the account.
