Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has revealed that public primary and secondary schools will now be audited by the Auditor General to seal loopholes and enhance accountability.
Speaking in a virtual meeting attended by school Principals, Deputy Principals, Comprehensive school heads, Board of Management members, and all administration heads (Finance, Accountants procurements), Koskei noted that most schools have weak procurement systems, supply of food and services and hence the need to boost management practices.
He directed the Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok to initiate legal internal systems to align with the new government policy of having the institutions audited at school levels, saying that serious audit queries in schools especially; inflated school enrolment data has been noted and caused the ministry to have wrong data leading to the loss of school capitations.
“Inflation of learners’ data will not be tolerated by the government. Those in school leadership must ensure all data submitted to the Ministry of Education is accurate and verifiable on the ground,” he said.
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He emphasized that the government relies on the records provided by the schools to plan for resources in the form of capitation and infrastructure funds for the development of learning institutions.
He therefore called on Principals, BoMs, and school leadership to uphold the highest level of accountability in line with the current strained economic environment, warning them against the cancer of corruption and violating the law in the process of running their institutions.
The Public Service head at the same time lauded the leaders for their sacrifices in ensuring school operations run smoothly despite a myriad of challenges.
Citing the case of the 100 per cent transition to senior schools, Koskei said many schools experienced large number of students amid strained facilities.
He also acknowledged the interference of influential politicians and government officials who occasionally interfere with the running of learning institutions.
“I want to encourage you to be firm and clear in managing such scenarios. The government will never let you down.” He noted
He also highlighted other challenges such as weak disaster management preparedness, maintenance of school facilities. Poor school feeding programmes, inappropriate use of school resources, indiscipline in schools, failure to adhere to best labour procedures, and poor school relationships with the local communities.
Koskei further challenged BoMs to be vigilant and play their role in oversighting the schools, and cautioned them against micromanaging the institutions.
By Juma Ndigo
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