Ongoing Verification Unearths Over 50,000 Ghost Students in Kenyan Secondary Schools
A nationwide data verification exercise by the Ministry of Education has exposed more than 50,000 ghost students in secondary schools.
Across the country, sparking fresh concerns about massive fraud in the sector.
The revelation, made by Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, points to a long-running scheme of inflated enrollment figures that has cost taxpayers billions of shillings in misallocated funds.
Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee, PS Bitok revealed that the audit has so far covered only about half of Kenya’s public schools.
Therefore, suggesting that the number of non-existent learners could be far higher than the 50,000 already identified.
The discrepancies were unearthed after student enrollment data from different sources.
Including the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) and headteachers’ records.
And reports from sub-county directors were cross-checked for consistency.
The ghost student scandal is directly tied to the government’s capitation funding program, which disburses money to schools based on their reported enrollment.
By padding their registers with non-existent learners, some schools have been fraudulently receiving millions in public funds.
This revelation now confirms earlier warnings by the Auditor General, who had flagged similar irregularities in the sector.
The Auditor General’s reports highlighted that the government was losing billions of shillings each year to fake students and even phantom schools that exist only on paper.
“We have found that more than 50,000 students were ghost students, and we are only at 50% of verification,” Bitok told MPs, underscoring the seriousness of the issue.
He added that preliminary evidence suggests the problem may extend beyond students to include schools that appear in official records but have no real presence on the ground.
To curb further loss of funds, the Ministry of Education has tied the disbursement of third-term capitation to the successful verification of each school’s data.
While this move has caused some delays in funding for institutions undergoing scrutiny, the government insists that it is a critical step to restore accountability in the system.
Bitok warned that schools and officials implicated in inflating enrollment figures will face severe disciplinary and legal consequences once the audit is concluded.
The PS also called on Parliament and education stakeholders to support the ministry in determining the next course of action against those found culpable.
This collaboration, he said, is essential to clean up the system and rebuild public confidence in the management of education resources.
The government maintains that the verification exercise, though uncomfortable, is necessary to safeguard public funds and ensure that money meant for learners is used as intended.
Once complete, the audit is expected to provide a more accurate picture of the true number of students and schools in the country and could lead to a significant reduction in capitation disbursements.
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