Some select constituencies were unable to account for Sh2.1 billion school bursary awards for one year, according to the latest report of Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
In the 2026 performance audit, 86 constituencies cannot account for funds disbursed in the 2023/24 financial year.
In the report, 23 constituencies were sampled in six counties — Nairobi, Kirinyaga, Makueni, Kilifi, Kisii and Narok — for the 2021/22 to 2024/25 financial years.
Ms Gathungu’s report shows the bursaries scheme run by Members of Parliament is riddled with irregularities.
The report uncovered favouritism, multiple awards to some students and shady dealings that led auditors to cast doubts on how Sh56 billion was spent on five million students during the period under review.
According to the Auditor-General, system inefficiencies and weaknesses have clouded the management of public bursarie s and scholarships for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
This emerged as cases of learners missing school due to lack of fees and the perceived inequalities in the award of bursaries and scholarships managed under the National Government- Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) kitty intensified.
“Such audit queries raised concerns about accountability and transparency in the management of the bursary and scholarship funds,” says Ms Gathungu.
She states that nepotism and political manipulation are prevalent in the bursary and scholarship administration process.
The constituencies sampled during the audit are; Embakasi Central, Kibra, Kasarani, Dagoretti South, Embakasi South, Mbooni, Makueni, Kaiti, Kibwezi East, Ndia, Gichugu, Kirinyaga Central, Mwea, Kilgoris, Narok West, Narok East, Narok North, Nyaribari Masaba, Bomachoge Chache, Kitutu Chache South, Bobasi, Ganze and Malindi.
The constituencies were selected based on regional balance, inclusion of marginalised areas and financial irregularities “as highlighted in previous audit reports.”
Ms Gathungu notes that despite multiple education funding mechanisms, many eligible learners continue to be left out as a result of delays, inconsistencies and weak accountability in the allocation of bursaries.
Bursaries and scholarships, as designed under National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), are forms of non-repayable financial aid that supports students from low-income families, or those who have a demonstrated need for financial assistance to cover the cost of tuition and related expenses, such as books and living expenses.
Bursaries are typically means-tested as they are awarded based on financial need or socio-economic background, while scholarships are merit-based and are awarded for excellence in academics, sports or the arts.
The audit notes that while the bursaries and scholarships may have recorded successes, they are marred by reliance on manual processes, limited access to the opportunities and awards not based on applicants’ socio-economic needs and vulnerability status.
Other issues are: a lack of disaggregated records for learners with special needs, inadequate vetting and irregular issuance of bursaries, incomplete application forms and issuance of bursaries without application forms.
The Auditor-General says poor record keeping of bursary and scholarship data, inadequate identification of scholarship beneficiaries and multiple awards of bursaries and scholarships are some of the weaknesses that need to be addressed.
“Constituency committees failed to conduct due diligence of applicants, resulting in a flawed and unverifiable vetting process. This lack of thoroughness in vetting allowed non-deserving applicants to benefit at the expense of genuinely needy learners,” the audit says.
According to the audit: “The NG-CDF guidelines for administration of bursary schemes require constituency committees to put in place a system for identifying beneficiaries that embraces community participation, transparency and inclusivity.”
However, collaboration was hindered by political influence among the different bursary providers, “due to the political nature of bursaries, often associated with political leaders.”
“Leaders viewed bursary allocations as tools for enhancing their visibility and gaining voter goodwill,” the audit reveals. “Consequently, joint initiatives with other providers were perceived as politically sensitive, as they blurred individual credit and were seen as diminishing one's political influence.”
A review of monitoring reports revealed that 282 out of 290 constituencies processed bursary applications manually.
“This limited access to application forms to students studying outside their home constituencies, those living far from constituency offices and persons with disabilities who could not easily obtain or submit physical application forms,” says the audit.
The audit states that constituency committees did not collaborate with other public bursary providers to prevent multiple awards and ensure equitable access for needy students.
Analysis of 570 fee statements from learning institutions shows that 413 — representing 73 per cent of learners who benefited from the NG-CDF bursary — received additional bursaries from the National Government Affirmative Action (NGAAF), Presidential Secondary School Bursaries, county governments and Elimu Scholarship. Some 105 beneficiaries for fee overpayments.
Reliance on a manual application process was attributed to the failure by the NG-CDF board to initiate adequate investments in information and communication technology infrastructure to support automation of bursary and scholarship processes.
The use of manual processes, therefore, led to disparities in the administration of bursaries and scholarships across constituencies.
This, the audit established, undermined fairness, transparency and equal opportunity, as eligible applicants may be excluded due to inconsistencies in the issuance of application forms and increased human error during the application.
Bobasi MP Innocent Obiri.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
For instance, in Bobasi Constituency of MP Innocent Obiri, there were 139 students with more than one award in the financial year 2023/24. Out of the number, 20 students were from high-cost institutions, and they received between Sh30,000 and Sh160,000 each. This was significantly higher than the amounts awarded to students in public learning institutions, the audit says.
The audit established that bursary awards across the sampled constituencies were determined by the level of the learning institution, rather than the socio-economic or vulnerability status of applicants.
For instance, seven out of the 23 sampled constituencies awarded amounts ranging from Sh2,500 to Sh3,000 to secondary school learners, irrespective of their declared financial needs.
A review of bursaries beneficiary lists revealed that constituency committees awarded a uniform bursary amount to all applicants at the same education level without considering the applicants' reflected school fee balances or stated vulnerability categories.
“Some students received bursaries exceeding their school fees, leading to overpayments, while others had substantial fee arrears,” the audit says.
Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie. File | Nation
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
In Dagoretti South Constituency of MP John Kiarie, a review of 209 acknowledgement receipts revealed that 21 students had overpayments ranging from Sh5,000 to Sh47,000, while 188 beneficiaries still had outstanding fee balances of between Sh3,500 and Sh86,000.
“The award of standardised bursary amounts to all applicants without regard to vulnerability status was attributed to ineffective oversight by the NG-CDF board, with minimal enforcement of established guidelines,” the audit states.
This means that the constituency committees used discretion to award bursaries, instead of assessing the needs and vulnerabilities of the applicants.
Besides, the guidelines did not specify a minimum bursary threshold per student, leaving it at the discretion of the constituency committees.
The failure to maintain disaggregated records for learners with special needs was attributed to limited enforcement and oversight by the NG-CDF board.
Lack of adequate documentation by constituency committees also made it difficult to verify the actual number of learners with disabilities that were supported through bursaries.
“As a result, it was not possible to determine whether allocations corresponded to the needs of eligible applicants, creating a risk of exclusion. Over time, these gaps could deepen learners' vulnerability to poverty, due to inequitable access to bursaries,” the audit report says.
The applicants were also expected to attach requisite documents, including the fee structure, national identity card, birth certificate, parents' death certificate — in case the applicant is orphaned — disability card or a letter from a public hospital and other relevant documents.
The information is critical in assessing eligibility and awarding bursaries. However, the audit notes that constituency committees did not conduct proper vetting.
For example, a review of 1,815 sampled application forms from 13 constituencies revealed that of 1,127 forms, about 62 per cent were not duly filled.
The forms lacked mandatory information such as the socio-economic status of applicants, authentication from local administrative leaders, religious leaders or school administration.
About 1,393 application forms, representing 77 per cent, lacked the required approval by the fund managers or committees' representatives, while 688, representing 38 per cent, lacked one or more of the mandatory supporting documents.
“Regardless of the above anomalies, the applicants were considered and awarded bursaries,” the Auditor-General says.
In some instances, learners were awarded a bursary without corresponding application forms.
A case in point is Embakasi South constituency of Mr Julius Mawathe where bursaries of Sh62 million were awarded to 3,131 youths for driving and cosmetology courses without applications.
Embakasi South MP Julius Mawathe.
Photo credit: Photo I Pool
Analysis of constituency committee minutes for Mwea of Ms Mary Maingi, Narok East of Mr Aramat Lemanken Mr Obiri’s Bobasi revealed that these constituencies set aside funds for 'special bursary', which were issued to learners without filling application forms or undergoing vetting.
The audit further reveals that scrutiny of payment vouchers, bank reconciliation reports and bank statements revealed instances where learners in high-cost private learning institutions benefitted from bursaries worth Sh2.8 million, "yet their application forms could not be traced.”
The institutions include Moi Educational Centre, Kianda School, and Consolata School, among others.
“The amounts awarded to these learners were relatively higher than those awarded to learners in public learning institutions.”
Mr Benjamin Gathiru’s Embakasi Central constituency issued 7,500 application forms in the financial year 2023/24, “but a review of the list of beneficiaries revealed that he awarded 11,132 learners.
“There was no explanation of the basis used to identify and award the additional 3,632 beneficiaries,” the audit says.
