The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has called for the removal of rogue officials from the Ministry of Education, accusing them of siphoning billions meant for learners through ghost schools and fraudulent allocations.
Speaking in Murang’a during a capacity-building forum for union officials from Nairobi and Central regions, Kuppet chairperson Omboko Milemba said capitation funds intended for learners are being diverted and retained within the ministry.
“The theft has been going on for years. Money meant for examinations, infrastructure and learners’ capitation has been stolen. Let the ministry remove the log from its own eye before it starts coming after teachers,” Milemba charged.
A recent report by the Auditor General revealed that up to Ksh170 billion may have been lost in the last four years through allocations to 33 ghost schools. The revelations have rattled the sector, with many institutions struggling to keep afloat due to persistent delays in disbursements.
Milemba urged the government to urgently “clean up the ministry” to ensure the funds reach deserving children.
Kuppet secretary general Akelo Misori echoed the sentiments, saying teachers are weary of empty promises from government officials while schools are starved of resources. “It’s unfortunate that schools are punished for errors made by ministry officials. These delays affect the day-to-day running of schools,” Misori noted.
Currently, schools are yet to receive 30 per cent of learners’ capitation for the second term. Each secondary school learner is entitled to Ksh22,244 annually, disbursed in three phases: 50 per cent in the first term, 30 per cent in the second term, and 20 per cent in the third term.
However, schools have received only a portion of these funds, with arrears piling up. By July, the government owed schools at least Ksh18 billion, leaving thousands of institutions struggling to pay non-teaching staff, feed learners and prepare for examinations.
The ministry has since launched a verification exercise requiring schools to submit learners’ Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) alongside registration details and bank accounts before receiving capitation.
Misori also criticized the teachers’ medical cover introduced in 2015, which has faced constant complaints. He said many hospitals do not recognize the scheme, forcing teachers to pay out-of-pocket despite monthly deductions. “If the Teachers Service Commission procures something that doesn’t benefit teachers, that becomes a huge source of demotivation,” he said.
The union leaders further urged the government to consider moving Junior Secondary Schools from primary to secondary schools, arguing that most secondary institutions have under-utilized facilities such as classrooms and laboratories. Boarding schools, they added, could also admit day scholars to ease congestion.
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