Embezzling of school grants is a new low

The STANDARD ON SUNDAY

The revelation that millions of shillings have been lost mysteriously by public schools, universities and colleges is not in the least shocking.

Theft of public funds is not exactly news in a country where we are still struggling to grasp how Sh300 billion remains unaccounted for or lost in the 2011 Government Financial year as reported by Auditor General Edward Ouko.

What is stunning about school grants simply vanishing into thin air is that the vice is being conducted on the backs of children and college students with not a single arrest or conviction so far.

Education Parliamentary Committee chairperson Sabina Wanjiru Chege says special audits of all government schools, colleges and universities accounts could be launched any time to deal with the issue. One might imagine that it should have been launched the moment the report was released.

The parliamentary committee on education has equally demanded a forensic audit on individual accounts of each public school, university and college.

What is disconcerting is the possible existence of a network of polished kleptocrats operating between the Ministry of Education and heads of public schools.

The report by the Auditor General reveals massive loss of money through what appears to be ghost projects, unjustified over expenditure and incredible impunity in allocation of tenders for school projects.

In some instances, school management claimed documents to support expenditure of millions of shillings had been lost in a fire incident yet no proof was provided to indicate any such eventuality.

Reports of stolen public funds rarely seem to elicit as much outrage and dismay in the public domain. There are possibly two reasons.

Either because wananchi have come to simply accept theft of public funds as a “function” of the Government or have become numbed by the tons and tons of public theft reports and the fact that few culprits have faced the law.

The existence of a cartel that colludes between the various educational institutions and the Ministry shows the level of sophistication that public theft has morphed into.

Even worse, continued reports of massive funds being stolen seem to elicit lukewarm response from a Government that is struggling to pay its bills, meet expenditure and pay salaries.

The fact that schools heads are now at the centre of losses running into hundreds of millions of shillings meant to benefit and improve our education standards is alarming and disheartening.

Like any other moment of outrage, what the Government and Parliament must do is to ensure that examples are set and culprits are charged and taken to court.

Nothing could change the perpetrators’ attitude faster than the sight investigators hauling school heads and their accomplices to court.

While the Government must show commitment and tenacity in the fight against public theft beyond mere lip service, the public must also be encouraged not to look the other way when money intended to benefit their schools and communities is willfully diverted to personal use.

Think about it, the stolen funds could buy computers to equip school libraries, buy a school van or bus or even build a new laboratory or library fully equipped to enable the students meet the challenges of tomorrow. These are valuable funds that could better equip students for a competitive job market.

Beyond tougher audit rules for funds released to school and colleges, the Government must move with ease to create a mechanism that rewards schools that show proper and efficient management of Government funds.

We need a system that doles out prizes for the best-managed schools that demonstrate the highest standards in deploying funds for the benefit of its students.

This could go a long way to not only discourage the vice, but also encourage schools and colleges to know that honesty and proper management of public resources is actually recognised and rewarded.