Principals of public secondary schools will, for the first time, appear before the National Assembly to answer questions on their management of billions of shillings in public funds following the submission of Auditor-General’s reports covering the institutions.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education said it will begin by summoning principals of Category C1 schools before extending the exercise to Category C2 (Extra County), C3 (County) and C4 (Day) schools.
The move marks a significant expansion of Parliament’s financial oversight, bringing secondary schools under the same scrutiny long applied to public universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and teachers’ training colleges.
Committee chairperson Dick Maungu said the decision followed the receipt of audit reports on secondary schools, exposing a gap in parliamentary oversight despite schools managing substantial public resources.
“We have begun receiving audit reports on secondary schools and very soon we shall be summoning principals of those institutions. These schools oversee huge amounts of public funds, yet they have never appeared before us for oversight,” Mr Maungu said, adding that the committee had developed a framework to enable principals to respond personally to audit queries raised by the Auditor-General.
The first phase will focus on Category C1 schools, formerly national schools, which receive government capitation, collect fees from thousands of learners and, in many cases, oversee multimillion-shilling infrastructure projects.
The category includes Alliance High School, Mang’u High School, Kenya High School, Nairobi School, Pangani Girls, Lenana School, Maranda High School, Kagumo High School, St Patrick’s High School Iten, Maseno School, Kapsabet Boys and Mama Ngina Girls, among others.
The number of Category C1 schools has risen to more than 200 following the recategorisation of several extra-county schools during the transition to the Competency-Based Education system.
Mr Maungu said Parliament had identified inconsistencies in its oversight role, noting that institutions managing relatively small budgets had routinely appeared before the committee while secondary schools handling much larger sums had not.
Principals follow proceedings during the 48th Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association Annual National Conference in Mombasa on June 24, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
“Sometimes we examine a TVET institution with about 120 students managing less than Sh10 million, yet a secondary school with more than 2,000 students receives significantly larger amounts of public money without ever appearing before the committee. That is the gap we want to close,” he said.
The planned hearings come as public secondary schools continue to face a funding crisis caused by delayed and incomplete government capitation.
Many schools have accumulated debts, delayed payments to suppliers and struggled to provide meals, learning materials and other essential services. Some have also sent learners home over unpaid fees, citing funding shortfalls.
The scrutiny also follows concerns raised in successive Auditor-General’s reports highlighting unsupported expenditure, procurement irregularities, weak internal controls and poor accountability across public institutions.
MPs say requiring principals to respond to audit queries in person will help establish whether schools are complying with public finance laws and addressing issues raised by auditors.
Education CS Julius Ogamba.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba welcomed the move, saying stronger oversight would improve accountability in the management of public resources.
“We welcome this oversight because it will ensure that the resources allocated to our schools are used prudently and for the purposes for which they were intended,” Mr Ogamba said.
The National Parents Association also backed the initiative but cautioned lawmakers against using the process to victimise school heads.
“We welcome the move if principals are summoned to explain how public funds are being used. For a long time, we have seen schools sending learners home because they claim they have no money,” he said.
However, he urged the committee to base its inquiries strictly on audit findings.
“The committee should base its inquiries on credible audit findings and evidence where there are concerns about financial management. The process should also give principals an opportunity to clear their names where no wrongdoing has occurred,” Mr Obuhatsa said.
School heads also welcomed the planned hearings but said Parliament should use the opportunity to address persistent underfunding in the education sector.
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (Kessha) national chairman Willie Kuria said principals were ready to account for every shilling received from the government.
“We have no problem appearing before Parliament if summoned. In fact, we welcome the opportunity because it will also allow us to explain the reality on the ground,” said Mr Kuria, who is also the chief principal of Murang’a High School.
He said schools could not fairly be assessed without considering delays and deficits in capitation disbursements.
Although the government allocates Sh22,244 annually for each learner, schools rarely receive the full amount, forcing institutions to borrow, defer development projects and accumulate debts, he said.
“How do we explain spending money that has not been fully disbursed? We have appeared before Parliament before through Kessha to appeal for the release of the capitation deficit. We hope Parliament will also ensure schools receive the funds they are owed. Once the full capitation is remitted, we will gladly account for every shilling,” Mr Kuria said.
The committee said the exercise would be rolled out progressively, beginning with Category C1 schools before covering Category C2, C3 and C4 institutions across the country.
If implemented, the hearings will usher in a new level of parliamentary oversight of basic education finances, requiring principals to publicly account for the management of billions of shillings in taxpayers’ money.
