At least 29 schools have lost their funding from the government after the Ministry of Education flagged anomalies in their registration, in an audit meant to do away with ghost schools and imaginary learners.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba told the National Assembly’s Education Committee on Wednesday that another 6,000 schools have not yet met ministry requirements to be eligible for capitation.
He also notified the ministry that it was also grappling with a Ksh.3.2 billion shortfall needed to carry out the pending national examinations in 2025.
The non-compliant schools at primary, junior, and senior secondary levels had not achieved the minimum threshold of student population, with some registering as low as 45 students.
Ogamba also revealed that the 29 schools, despite being enrolled for the KPSEA, KJSEA, or KCSE examination, were locked out of capitation because of outstanding issues in registration.
Education Committee Chair Julius Melly questioned the oversight, asking why the schools had been allowed to register candidates when they were not qualified for capitation.
“Someone is sleeping on the job,” said Melly. “Why did you allow the 29 schools to register for exams when they’re not recognized for capitation? These students need to be enabled to sit their exams.”
In a statement, CS Ogamba said the ministry could not ascertain whether the 29 schools had valid candidates.
“As it is, we cannot tell if they have students who are registered. Since they were not in the system for capitation, we cannot issue money until the issues of registration are cleared,” he explained.
Meanwhile, out of 990 primary schools audited, 570 had not yet submitted their data even though they had received half of their money at the end of the verification exercise.
