Ministry to release report exposing ghost schools draining taxpayers cash

Details on the existence of ghost schools siphoning millions of shillings from taxpayers are expected to be released Friday as the Ministry of Education concludes a countrywide verification exercise.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed that the audit, triggered by an earlier report from the Auditor General, will seek to establish the number of schools and learners before the release of capitation funding.

“The verification exercise is the reason behind the delayed disbursement of capitation to schools,” Ogamba told The Standard in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

According to the CS, the Ministry is validating student numbers submitted by head teachers and cross-checking them with records from sub-county Directors of Education.

 “Once we ascertain the numbers, the first schools to be verified will immediately get their funds,” he said.

The verification, which ends today, is also expected to inform wider policy shifts, including the possible closure of schools with too few learners to justify their existence.

“We have discovered instances where a school indicates it has 300 learners on paper. When cross-checked with other agencies, those numbers don’t add up. Where ghost schools are confirmed, we shall hand the cases over to investigative agencies. That is fraud, and money has been moving through bank accounts signed by individuals who will be held accountable.” Ogamba said.

The CS said the report by the Auditor General indicates that some of the ghost schools may have been in operation for up to four years.

Capitation crisis 

Beyond the ghost schools scandal, the CS acknowledged that the erratic flow of funds to schools has been worsened by a structural mismatch between the government’s financial year and the school calendar.

Currently, disbursement follows the 50:30:20 formula—half the funds released at the start of the year, then 30 per cent and 20 per cent later. But Ogamba admitted this has been unsustainable.

Instead, he has hinted at possible review of the manner in which the funds will be disbursed, with prominence given to months when the exchequer has surplus collection of funds.

“We are looking at a new approach where disbursement aligns with months when the country has surplus revenue collection. That way, schools won’t always be left stranded,” he explained.

The verification exercise is also feeding into wider education reforms guided by the Presidential Working Party. 

Ogamba said data from the exercise will influence rationalisation measures, including the merger of schools with fewer than 10 learners.

“For example, if a junior secondary has only five students, it may be merged with another school nearby. These are decisions we can only make with reliable data,” he said.

The CS added that the ministry is working on legislation to anchor recommendations such as increased funding to primary and secondary schools, while also considering consolidation of bursary and scholarship programmes.

“It makes little sense for one learner to get a county bursary, a CDF bursary, and another from an NGO while another misses out altogether. We want to centralise so that funds reach more students,” Ogamba said.

Illegal levies 

He confirmed that guidelines have already been issued for this year’s Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA), the first of its kind for Grade 9 learners.

“Unlike in the 8-4-4 system, learners are not waiting for one exam to determine their future. They already carry 40 per cent from Grade 6 and 7 assessments. Grade 9 contributes 60 per cent,” he said, adding that teachers have been trained and students prepared through piloting.

While reiterating that levies outside government guidelines remain illegal, Ogamba conceded that some schools may charge extra for services like lunch.

“We must be practical. Functions such as lunch programmes require resources. But schools must seek approval and cannot arbitrarily burden parents,” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, the government has set aside Sh980 million for the retraining of secondary school teachers under the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

Ogamba insisted that despite challenges, the reforms underway—including cleaning up school data, restructuring bursary allocation and realigning funding—are aimed at restoring transparency and stability in the education sector.