Garissa County Education Board accused of imposing secret cash levies on learners

The Garissa County Education Board, the statutory organ mandated to oversee basic education in the county, is facing allegations of secretly imposing cash levies on learners in violation of the Basic Education Act.

According to sources within the education sector who requested anonymity, the board is said to demand KSh30 per child in primary and junior schools and KSh70 per student in senior schools. The levies are reportedly computed using NEMIS enrolment data and collected through the office of the County Director of Education, which serves as the board’s secretariat.

What has raised the most concern is the claim that the collections made from schools are made in cash and remain unreceipted. If confirmed, such an arrangement would leave no audit trail, placing the funds beyond scrutiny and directly contravening the law that requires all payments to be receipted and authorised by the Ministry of Education.