Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced that the government is considering merging some schools with fewer students as soon as the audit on schools and capitation is completed by the ministry.
Addressing the Senate on Wednesday, the CS announced that the government had noted a disturbing trend where schools with as few as ten students claimed heavy capitation from the ministry, leading to pilferage of public funds.
In a bid to address the menace, the ministry will consider merging schools with fewer students, while those with a higher number of students will be separated to enable the government to better channel resources to address the constant capitation headache that has threatened to cripple the key sector.
''We are doing something about the number of ghost schools in the country. We have noticed that some of those institutions and the statistics we are getting are that some of the schools we have are having less than 10 students,'' Ogamba decried.
''We are going to interrogate whether some of the schools will be merged or whether some will be separated,'' he added.
The CS, however, did not immediately explain how the government plans to address the challenges, such as the long distances between some schools and students' homes or both learners and teachers, once the process begins.
The decision could, however, likely spark debate and mixed reactions from both the students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders in the sector.
Progress on Audit
Ogamba announced that the government will only channel resources to schools whose exact enrolment numbers have been confirmed.
So far, the ministry has completed 75 per cent of the verification, with 25 per cent remaining, and it is expected to be completed within the month.
''What we decided to do is, after the AG flagged the issue, the Ministry resolved that in this third term, resources would only be released to schools where the number of enrolled students has been verified. These anomalies are now being uncovered,'' Ogamba stated.
JSS and School Infrastructure
Meanwhile, Ogamba further said that in the wake of the confusion over the location and management of the Junior Secondary Schools, the government will, in line with the Presidential Working Party recommendations, establish a comprehensive school, bringing together both primary and junior schools under one body.
Additionally, the government has allocated Ksh1.3 billion to support school infrastructure. To achieve other developments in schools, the Ministry will push for other targeted budgetary allocations to boost the Constituency Development Fund allocations
''As I have indicated, the government’s policy of 100 per cent transition means that there will be additional pressure on school infrastructure as enrollment continues to grow. In addition to reliance on CDF, other measures the government has taken to maintain infrastructure include securing targeted budgetary allocations for infrastructure development,'' he added.
