How school heads siphon government funds through inflated enrolment

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A nationwide enrolment verification exercise has exposed how 34 public school heads misreported learner numbers, either failing to submit data or inflating figures to attract extra government funding.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, said the ministry found that 14 heads failed or refused to submit enrolment data.

Other 20 heads submitted exaggerated learner numbers, undermining accountability and transparency in the education sector.

“Heads of Institutions are custodians of school data. Deliberate falsification constitutes gross misconduct and a breach of public trust,” Mr Ogamba said.

The exercise, covering public primary, junior, secondary, and special needs schools in all 47 counties, compared official NEMIS records with independently verified school-level submissions.

The findings revealed wide discrepancies between reported and verified enrolment: primary schools recorded nearly 886,000 fewer learners, while junior secondary schools showed over 543,000 more learners than documented.

The report also flagged unauthenticated learners, missing Unique Personal Identifiers, duplicated assessment numbers, and several non-operational schools still receiving funds.

“While official data might suggest full classrooms, kwa ground mambo ni different,” said one education officer who asked not to be named.

“Many schools have far fewer learners than reported, yet funding continues to flow based on inflated numbers.”

In response, CS Ogamba said in a statement the ministry has forwarded the names of the 34 heads to the Teachers Service Commission for administrative action.

Funding for unverified learners has been suspended, and non-operational schools face formal closure or de-registration.

28 Sub-County directors and quality assurance officers will also face scrutiny for supervisory lapses.

Mr Ogamba said the verification exercise is critical to protect public resources, ensure equitable distribution of funds, and strengthen the integrity of education data ahead of the rollout of the more robust KEMIS system.

“Accuracy in enrolment is not optional; it is a legal, financial, and ethical obligation,” Mr Ogamba emphasized.

As billions of shillings are invested annually in free basic education, the report warns that misreporting enrolment figures will no longer be tolerated.

School heads will be held accountable.