The Ministry of Education has suspended disbursement of capitation funds to 29 schools across the country following registration irregularities uncovered during an ongoing audit targeting ghost learners and schools.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba, while addressing the National Assembly Committee on Education on Wednesday, revealed that the affected institutions have not received any funding despite having registered candidates for the KPSEA, KJSEA, or KCSE examinations.
Ogamba noted that the ministry cannot verify whether these schools have legitimate candidates, stating that “we cannot even establish as per now whether the 29 schools have candidates in the first place… they were not in the system for capitation, so we cannot disburse funds until the registration queries are resolved.”
The CS further disclosed that more than 6,000 schools comprising primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary institutions remain non-compliant with ministry guidelines required to access government funding. Many of these schools reportedly failed to meet the student population threshold, with some hosting as few as 45 learners.
Education Committee Chair Julius Melly criticized the ministry for allowing the affected schools to register for national exams despite their funding ineligibility. “Someone is sleeping on the job,” Melly remarked, urging the ministry to ensure that legitimate candidates from these schools are not disadvantaged during examinations.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s audit revealed that 570 out of 990 primary schools had failed to submit required enrollment data despite having already received 50 percent of their capitation funds.
The crackdown on ghost learners comes as the Ministry of Education faces a Ksh.3.2 billion funding gap needed to facilitate the remaining national examinations in 2025. The ongoing verification exercise aims to ensure accurate data, accountability, and equitable distribution of education resources nationwide.
