‘Ghost schools’ probe begins as Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap denies playing a role
Kenneth Kemboi Murwes, a resident of Kaptiony village in Baringo North Constituency, walks through the gate of the non-existent Kaptiony Girls High School on April 24.
Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap has denied having a hand in the controversial establishment of fake schools in Baringo County.
The Nation in an exposé last week unmasked several schools that had no physical infrastructure, teachers or pupils whatsoever and whose only claim to existence were elaborately done signboards, gates and fences.
Mr Makilap has denied any knowledge of the schools that were established without following due process regarding the registration of educational institutions. This comes amid an internal investigation initiated by the Ministry of Education to establish the motive behind the erection of signboards, gates and fences claiming the establishment of Kaptiony Girls High School, Kampi ya Nyasi Secondary School and Kasaka Mixed Day Secondary School.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has written to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, calling on her to investigate the matter. He told Nation that a national audit of schools will be done later, although he denied knowledge of the fake schools.
“In the past week, there have been reports of alleged fake schools in Baringo County. The reports include allegations that the fake schools are an avenue to siphon public funds, in the form of capitation to learners,” reads the letter dated May 13 2024.
“Whereas our initial investigation has established that the said schools are not registered and have not received any capitation or other funding from the ministry, we request that, in the public interest and for purposes of accountability, you also undertake a special audit to comprehensively ascertain the veracity of these serious allegations,” says Mr Machogu in the letter.
A signboard for Kampi Nyasi Secondary School in Baringo North Constituency, Baringo County on April 24, 2024.
The CS has also written to the principal secretary for Basic Education, Dr Belio Kipsang, instructing him to establish the registration statuses of the schools and whether they have boards of management.
“Institute investigations and report on the person(s) responsible for the erection of signage and/or gates for the purported schools, and to the extent that can be established, the purpose of the said signage and gates,” the letter reads.
Mr Machogu said that, based on the outcome of the two investigations, a determination will be made on whether to invite the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for a further probe.
Baringo North Sub-county Director of Education Kiprono Langat told the Nation that he had not been involved in any registration of the fake schools and neither had he approved the opening of any bank accounts related to them.
Mr Makilap said the land was donated by locals for the purpose of establishing schools and villager put up the signboard and gate to ward off land-grabbers.
Prescribed requirements
“It [the erection of the signboard and gate] was done even before I became an MP. What’s the problem if parents and the community have put up the signage for the proposed schools? We can’t malign the Ministry of Education through propaganda. There’s no money either from CDF [National Government Constituency Development Fund] or the [Education ministry] that has been allocated to those proposed secondary schools,” he said.
According to the Basic Education Act (2013), the registration of a public school begins with making an application to the local County Education Board. If satisfied that the establishment of the institution conforms with the prescribed requirements, the board is mandated to notify the applicant within 30 days.
If the board rejects an application, the applicant is also informed of the decision.
To qualify for registration, an institution should have a sufficient number of registered teachers and non-teaching staff, appropriate teaching and learning facilities, name, physical, postal and electronic addresses. It should also include the governance and management structures of the institution, academic qualifications and experience of the promoters and managers of the intended institution.
Mr Jeremiah Tarus (centre), acting head teacher of Kasaka Primary School in Baringo North Constituency, and other locals show a signboard for Kasaka Mixed Day Secondary School that they recovered from a valley in the area on 24 April 2024.
The applicant is further required to declare the number, qualifications and competence of the teachers and non-teaching staff, available suitable infrastructure, among other things.
“Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh20 million or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years or to both.”
Fictitious leaning institution
In 2017, a junior officer at the Ministry of Education, who was in charge of data entry from county directors of education, inserted a fictitious leaning institution, Mundeku Secondary School in Khwisero Sub-county, Kakamega County, as well as a bank account for it. He was prosecuted for receiving Sh11,131,305 from the ministry as capitation for its fake 1,188 learners.
The amount he was charged for having acquired illegally was lower than the figure quoted by the auditor-general in a report (Sh27,329,598.95). The government allocates Sh22,244 for every learner in a public school under the Free Day Secondary Education Programme.
The money is disbursed for students who are registered under the National Education Management Information System (Nemis). A Public Accounts Committee report for 2017/18 also noted that another officer at the Ministry of Education had illegally inflated the number of learners for some schools on Nemis, resulting in an overpayment of Sh269,254,288.
