MoE cracks down on ‘ghost learners’ scandal, 28 directors issued with show cause letters

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has initiated disciplinary action against Directors of Education over the “ghost learners” scandal that led to the loss of nearly Ksh921 million in capitation funds.

A total of 28 Sub-County Directors have been issued with show cause letters for allegedly allowing schools within their jurisdictions to inflate student enrolment figures in a scheme that cost taxpayers close to Ksh1 billion.

Speaking at Lenana Primary School in Nairobi on Wednesday, Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok confirmed that the disciplinary process is underway.

He said the affected officials are suspected of collusion in the registration of ghost schools and falsification of school data, enabling institutions and individuals to fraudulently receive government capitation funds.

“We have issued 28 Sub-County Directors of Education with show cause letters for allowing schools to inflate the number of learners in their jurisdictions,” said Prof. Bitok.

The PS further disclosed that the Ministry has written to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) seeking disciplinary action against 38 head teachers whose schools reportedly manipulated enrolment data to secure additional funding.

In addition, the Ministry has engaged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to probe the matter further and identify other officers who may have been involved in the loss of public funds.

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The crackdown comes as the Ministry intensifies efforts to streamline school data systems and seal existing loopholes.

“We are cleaning up our systems. We are not going to allow any unverified learners in our system. Every term we send capitation, we will receive reports on the number of students to confirm accuracy,” Prof. Bitok stated.

He added that he is scheduled to meet the DCI with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba to engage them and provide further details on the investigations.

The nationwide School Data Verification exercise conducted across all 47 counties had revealed widespread discrepancies in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).

Investigations showed that while primary schools had reported over five million learners in the system, verification uncovered a shortfall of nearly 886,000 students.

The audit also established that 27 schools including 10 secondary and 17 primary institutions were non-operational but remained listed in the system.

The MoE verification exercise, which began on September 1, 2025, was aimed at safeguarding public resources and ensuring that government capitation funds are aligned with accurate learner enrolment data.

By Obegi Malack