The Ministry of Education has delayed the disbursement of funds to schools as it cleans its data to weed out ghost schools that have been receiving government money.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba told the Saturday Nation on Friday that the ministry has received the amounts from the National Treasury but is still verifying data before wiring the money to school accounts.
“A team at the ministry is working on the release of the money. We have to be more careful than before. We must verify and confirm the number of learners and schools,” the minister said.
“One team is looking at the Auditor-General’s report and then we’ll move to the ground with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). We have given them verification forms to minimise errors.”
He added that the ministry would be in a position to confirm by yesterday evening when the money will be wired to school accounts.
“We send the money to banks, not schools. Those who operate the bank accounts for the ghost schools will be arrested,” Mr Ogamba said.
The CS added that Sh17.1 billion in capitation has been released for free primary education, junior school and free day secondary education.
Schools opened for third term at the beginning of the week. There are reports of many institutions sending learners back home for fees.
According to Mr Ogamba, Sh5.9 billion has also been released for the administration of national examinations, and Sh9.1 billion for the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb).
Secondary school principals expressed frustration over the delay in releasing government funds, saying many institutions are on the brink of collapse.
“We have not received a shilling, yet we are expected to keep the school running. Suppliers are on our necks and the feeding programme is almost shutting down,” a principal in Samburu County told the Saturday Nation .
“If this trend continues, we may send the children home. Other schools have already done so,” the headteacher said.
Mr Ogamba noted that auditors have raised concerns over fraudulent practices in education in recent years, including the registration of non-existent schools and inflating student numbers in order to get more money.
He added that the ministry is analysing bank details tied to suspiciously registered primary and secondary schools.
This comes after damning revelations from the Auditor-General of ghost schools and learners, leading to the loss of billions taxpayers’ shillings every financial year.
Audit reports tabled in Parliament show dozens of non-existent or closed schools have been drawing government funds, while discrepancies in student data in the National Education Management Information System led to inflated payments.
In an August 29 circular, the government announced the disbursement of Sh23.16 billion in tuition fees and upkeep cash to 802,159 university and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.
According to the ministry, the Universities Fund has released Sh4.1 billion in scholarships to public universities, while Helb has disbursed sh19.06 billion.
“We are pleased to notify parents, guardians, university and TVET students that the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board have, as of today, disbursed a total of Sh23.16 billion in financial support to 802,159 university and TVET students across the country,” the notice read.
“Upkeep funds are sent to students’ designated payment channels as they report to their institutions. Students are advised to check their Higher Education Funding portals to confirm the disbursement status.”
