A national audit has blown the lid off a deep rot in Kenya’s basic education system. Investigators found 87,000 ghost learners lodged in government databases with no physical trace in any school.
The fake entries drained public funds year after year. The review also exposed non-existent and non-operational schools that stayed on official records and quietly received capitation-linked benefits.
As enrollment figures collapsed under scrutiny, the scandal raised urgent questions about data integrity, accountability, and who profited while classrooms stayed empty.
Ghost Learners Exposed in National Audit
The nationwide verification exercise ran between September and October 2025. Auditors cross-checked school registers, physical headcounts, and digital records. They found 87,000 ghost learners—names that existed only in systems. No teachers taught them. No classrooms held them. Yet their numbers inflated enrollment figures and shaped funding decisions.
The audit also flagged at least 26 public schools that had closed years earlier but remained active on government records. Sixteen were primary schools and ten were secondary schools. Officials cited persistent insecurity, long-term learner shortages, and unresolved community disputes as reasons for closure. Despite this, the schools stayed listed and continued to influence data-driven allocations.
Primary schools named in the audit included Bisanavi and Eldara in Isiolo County, Ngechu in Murang’a, and Kisauni Baptist in Mombasa. Others included Acheimen and Musebet in Kericho, Masalale North in Wajir, Kambi Otha in Isiolo, Manooni and Soma in Kitui, Kambi Samaki in Garissa, Toboiyat in Nandi, Mbaru Primary in West Pokot, Unyeeo Primary in Makueni, and Nyagakiru Primary in Chuka.
Auditors also flagged secondary schools such as Ngamba Secondary in Murang’a, Kira Secondary in Nyandarua, Ragia Forest Secondary in Kiambu, Dr Mashenge Moheto in Migori, Maji Mazuri Mixed Secondary in Baringo, Mugwandi Secondary in Kirinyaga, France Bulovi Secondary in Kakamega, Kara Secondary, Father Lia’s Temple Secondary, and Loita Secondary.
The review showed how weak controls allowed ghost learners to persist. Schools with fewer than 10 learners received funds despite failing minimum enrollment rules. In some cases, registers stayed unchanged for years. In others, digital updates never matched realities on the ground.
How Ghost Learners Drained Ksh 1.1 Billion
The audit estimates that Kenya lost about Ksh 1.1 billion every year through capitation linked to ghost learners and defunct schools. Capitation follows headcounts. Inflated numbers meant inflated allocations. The money flowed quietly, spread thinly across the system, and escaped early detection.
The verification exercise also revealed a sharp correction in declared enrollment. Public school numbers fell from 11.6 million to just over 11 million learners. That drop left more than half a million learners unaccounted for. Investigators linked a significant portion of the discrepancy to fake entries, delayed updates, and schools that no longer operated.
Education officials stressed that the money trail requires careful separation. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba addressed claims that the government paid Ksh 1.1 billion to ghost schools. He rejected that framing. He said the ministry withheld funds from about 990 schools that failed to submit verified data during the audit. He drew a line between non-existent schools and administrative inconsistencies that froze payments.
Still, the numbers exposed a system that relied too heavily on unverified data. Auditors warned that without strict checks, ghost learners would continue to distort planning, staffing, and funding.
Cleanup Drive and What Comes Next
The Ministry of Education has begun a cleanup. It closed 10 secondary schools found to have zero students after verification. It ordered all schools to re-register under the new Kenya Education Management Information System by the end of 2025. Officials now tie capitation strictly to verified data. That shift has slowed payments to some legitimate schools, but the ministry says accuracy comes first.
CS Ogamba asked for time until early 2026 to complete investigations into staff records, bank accounts, and county-level links connected to the fraud. He said the ministry would take administrative and criminal action once investigators establish responsibility.
The audit sends a clear warning. Ghost learners thrive where oversight fails. They steal from classrooms that need books, teachers, and meals. Kenya now faces a test. It must finish the cleanup, publish accountability outcomes, and lock the system against manipulation. Without that resolve, the numbers will lie again—and public money will keep vanishing into empty desks.
