The government is tightening the screws on the issue as it emerged from the audit report, which exposed the startling tale of phantom students siphoning off the government’s funds.
The crackdown on the issue saw 28 sub-county education directors face disciplinary proceedings. The audit report established the existence of over 900,000 learners who did not exist in the records.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok spoke on Tuesday, February 17, at Lenana Primary School, confirming the ministry’s decision to hand the audit report to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigation.
The principal secretary stated that the ministry had sent the 28 directors of education, as indicated in the audit report, show-cause letters demanding to know why they should not face disciplinary action.
“I’ve written show-cause notices for 28 directors of education nationwide who are likely culpable and must explain why they shouldn’t be disciplined,” stated the principal secretary.
The move comes as the ministry’s audit report established the existence of 973,634 learners in the country’s public learning institutions who could not be traced, despite the allocation of the government’s funds to the phantom students to the tune of over KSh1 billion annually.
The third term of 2025 alone saw the phantom students siphon off more than KSh912 million.
The audit report established the existence of 885,904 phantom students at the primary level, while the figure for the secondary level was 87,730.
The issue was worsened as 27 schools were indicated as being operational and funded but did not exist physically as they had no location and students.
Following the audit report, the issue is now in the hands of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the directors involved in the scandal are expected to face the commission for questioning.
The Teachers Service Commission was asked to take disciplinary action against the directors involved in the scandal, which could lead to dismissal, though no such dismissals have been confirmed.
