The Auditor General’s current report shows that schools across the country have registered more than 87000 imaginary students, which allows them to illegally withdraw KSh11 billion from the Free Primary Education fund that should provide assistance to actual students in public schools. The public reaction to the revelation has created a demand for immediate answers about how basic education institutions manage their financial operations.
According to the audit report presented to Parliament by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, ghost learners exist throughout all eight former provinces but show their highest numbers between the Rift Valley and Nairobi and Coast areas. The Ministry of Education used the Primary Education Sector Analysis System (PESAS) to track these fake student enrollments, which served as the basis for distributing FPE capitation funds that schools receive for each student.
The report found that audits detected differences between electronic enrollment records and actual school attendance, which was verified during field inspections. Inspectors found cases where reported learner numbers far exceeded the physical capacity of classrooms and where head teachers could not produce evidence of real pupils matching PESAS entries. The government released funds for capitation purposes, which subsequently appeared in national budget disbursement records.
The Auditor-General reported that the Ministry of Education needs better internal control systems because its current system lacks instant verification tools that would verify student attendance and enrollment status for online courses. The report shows that this deficiency permits people to misuse the FPE fund while it also creates public distrust toward educational funding.
The Education Committee of Parliament showed strong concern about the issue because they promised to take quick steps that would stop all fraudulent activities and return all misappropriated funds. The committee members requested that schools should implement biometric identification systems while they should conduct thorough verification processes between school attendance registers and national student databases. The legislators were joined by some members who demanded criminal investigations into officials and administrators who participated in unlawful student enrollment practices.
Education stakeholders warn that continued misappropriation of FPE funds could erode the quality of basic education and widen inequalities, particularly in marginalized counties where every shilling counts toward teacher support, learning materials, and infrastructure. The Auditor‑General’s report has now been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for potential prosecution of those responsible, setting the stage for high‑profile accountability measures.
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