Revealed: How secondary schools loot public funds

Parents demonstrate against increased form ones school fees structures at Jogoo house. ON 03/01/15 PHOTO; JENIPHER WACHIE

Some secondary schools are inflating admission figures so that they receive more funds from the Government under the subsidised education programme.

A survey by the Auditor General Edward Ouko on financial statements from the Ministry of Education revealed that the Government could be losing millions of shillings of capitation funds in public schools through inflated enrollment figures.

The 2013-2014 financial appraisals showed that an audit inspection carried out on the Free Day Secondary Schools (FDSE) in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos counties revealed fraudulent deals that include irregular allocation of funds, procurement of goods and questionable expenditure.

The new findings put ino question the overall enrolment figures of students in public schools entitled to capitation money from the Government.

Ministry figures indicate that the State remits Sh28 billion annually to all public secondary schools to benefit 2.2 million students.

Another Sh14 billion is sent to primary schools to benefit about 10 million children annually.

The details, seen by The Standard, reveal that secondary school heads collect another Sh116.6 billion in school fees from parents annually.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich recently increased capitation to schools, with Sh32.7 billion set aside to cater for free day secondary schools.

Another Sh14.1 billion, Mr Rotich said, would facilitate free primary education.

The report reveals that 36 schools awarded tenders worth Sh26.1 million through indirect procurement instead of open tendering as required by the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005.

It also indicates that some schools awarded tenders to suppliers who were not vetted by the tender committees.

And the queries did not end there. A scrutiny of financial records of 24 schools revealed that funds were transferred from one account to another without requisite authority.

“A total of Sh15.7 million in four schools was transferred irregularly as at June 30, 2014. A review of the position in March, 2015 revealed that some schools had refunded Sh13.7 million to the original accounts, leaving an outstanding amount of Sh1.9 million,” the report partly reads.

Missing Milions

And some imprest worth millions of shillings had not been returned or accounted for as per the required timelines. Other audit queries that were noted involved the infrastructure fund, economic stimulus projects fund and irregular allowances.

Communication from the ministry yesterday said most schools have answered the audit queries.

“Among the specific areas of concern were settlement of creditors, under-utilisation of funds and procurement procedures. The ministry has received the responses from affected schools,” a statement from the ministry partly read.

On the overstated enrolments, the report says examination of the enrolment records in the ministry used for disbursement of Free Day Secondary Education do not match the actual figures on the ground.

For instance, “JG Kiereini Secondary School had a student population of 800 between term three in 2013 and term one in 2014. However, examination of the schools student registers and other enrolment records revealed that the student population stood at 597 resulting in overstatement of 203 students”.

The report says the disparity led to excess disbursement of Sh1.4 million to the school.

“The extra receipt of the money is therefore irregular,” the report reads in part.

The Education ministry had previously directed school heads to submit up-to-date records of the enrolment figures, amid reports that some unscrupulous heads inflate the figures to siphon public funds.

Early this month, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang released a circular asking school heads to furnish his office with correct enrollment data.

“It has come to our attention that school children and students have been dropping out. In view of insecurity, radicalisation and some of the young people being enroled into outlawed groups, there is need for school administrators to have data on school children who transfer or drop out of school,” reads the circular dated June 9, 2015.

The circular is copied to all county directors of Education, and all heads in primary and secondary schools.

“We pay fees through capitation and some heads do not update the ministry on those who get transfers or those who exit schools through natural attrition,” Dr Kipsang said.

“We have asked the heads in both public and primary schools to revise their data so that the ministry is sure to send monies to the real beneficiaries,” he added.