The Office of the Auditor General has raised alarm over significant irregularities in school capitation disbursements, revealing billions lost through inflated enrolment figures and weak financial controls.
In its latest special audit report on capitation and infrastructure grants, the office cites glaring inconsistencies between student enrolment data captured in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) and actual school registers. The discrepancies, it notes, have led to some schools receiving excess funding while others were starved of resources over a four-year period ending June 2025.
According to the findings, 354 secondary schools, 99 junior secondary schools (JSS), and 270 primary schools were overfunded by Sh3.7 billion. Conversely, 334 secondary schools, 244 JSS, and 230 primary schools were underfunded by Sh2.14 billion.
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Beyond enrolment mismatches, the audit highlights cases of commingling of funds, where tuition and operations monies were deposited into the same bank accounts contrary to guidelines. Three secondary schools were found to have repeatedly failed to maintain separate accounts, undermining accountability. The report also documents instances where schools withdrew cash or transferred funds from tuition accounts, in violation of rules issued by the State Department for Basic Education.
Nearly 300 secondary schools delayed transferring maintenance and improvement funds from operations accounts to infrastructure accounts, with delays ranging from weeks to more than two years. The audit warns that such practices compromise transparency and hinder infrastructure development.
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Serious weaknesses were also identified in the management of NEMIS. The review found discrepancies between NEMIS records and data held by the Teachers Service Commission, the Kenya National Examinations Council, and the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KEPSEA). As a result, some schools continued to receive capitation despite having closed, while others not appearing in official databases still accessed funds.
The special audit sampled 438 secondary schools, 244 JSS, and 357 primary schools. Its findings underscore systemic weaknesses in financial oversight and data management.
By Masaki Enock
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