The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has come under scrutiny from legislators following reports of gross irregularities in the teachers' payroll system.
The concerns stem from Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report for the financial year ending June 2024, which highlighted mistakes in the payment of some teachers.
Specifically, Gathungu disclosed that TSC overpaid a section of teachers by a total of Ksh433.9 million, attributing the overpayments to inefficiencies associated with manual reporting and processing systems.
According to the Auditor General, the Commission managed to recover only Ksh222.3 million, leaving an outstanding balance of Ksh211.6 million.
Following the reports, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has called for an investigation into Gathungu's report to establish the root cause of the discrepancies.
Specifically, he called for clarification on the current number and employment status of individuals on the TSC payroll, including the verification status of all the said teachers, as well as the root causes of the payroll anomalies.
Onyonka, who spoke while appearing before the Education Committee of the Senate, also raised concerns over the audit revelations involving the Ministry of Education, which disbursed funds to non-existent schools.
He noted that the Ministry of Education's move to disburse money to non-existent schools pointed to a wider systemic issue of mismanagement and weak oversight within public education institutions.
During the session, the Senator called on the committee to compel the Ministry of Education to provide a report on the total financial loss attributable to non-existent or unauthorised personnel.
The latest development comes hours after Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba outlined radical measures to eliminate ghost schools in the country.
Speaking during an interview on Egesa FM on Monday, August 4, Ogamba revealed that a special task force would be established to work alongside the Auditor General’s office in identifying the fictitious institutions.
“If there is a ghost school, the investigations will allow us to arrest those involved,” the CS said, emphasising the seriousness of the matter.
