Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba is facing mounting pressure from civil society and legislators to release the full details of a nationwide audit that has exposed a massive ghost learner scandal within Kenya's public school system. A civil society organization, the Tunza Mtoto Coalition, has issued a seven-day ultimatum, effective Wednesday, November 5, 2025, for the Ministry of Education to publish the complete report, including the names of schools implicated in fraudulently inflating enrollment numbers.

The controversy erupted in September 2025 when the Ministry revealed that an ongoing data verification exercise had identified at least 50,000 non-existent students in secondary schools. Basic Education Principal Secretary, Dr. Julius Bitok, confirmed the findings before the National Assembly's Education Committee, stating the figure could rise as the audit was only partially complete. The verification process, which compares data from the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), school headcounts, and sub-county education directors, has exposed deep-seated irregularities in the capitation funding system.

Financial Bleeding and Delayed Funding

The financial implications for Kenya are substantial. With the government providing a capitation grant of Ksh22,244 per secondary school learner annually, the 50,000 ghost students represent a yearly loss of over Ksh1.1 billion to the public purse. Over a four-year secondary cycle, this amounts to a potential loss of Ksh4.4 billion. This scandal follows earlier warnings from the Office of the Auditor-General, which had previously reported that 33 non-existent schools had received billions in funding over the past four years.

In response to the audit's findings, the Ministry has tightened its grip on fund disbursement, tying capitation payments to the successful verification of school and learner data. While this measure is intended to curb fraud, it has resulted in significant delays in funding for legitimate schools, with some headteachers reporting that they are struggling to cover operational costs. PS Bitok informed Parliament that out of a Ksh23 billion allocation, Ksh13 billion had been disbursed to the approximately 17,400 schools (out of 32,000) that had been cleared by mid-September.

Calls for Accountability and Systemic Reform

The Tunza Mtoto Coalition, through its legal representatives Ashioya Mogire and Nkatha Advocates, has argued that the Ministry has a constitutional obligation of transparency and accountability to make the findings public. Their demand letter warns of legal action if the Ministry fails to disclose the report, which they argue points to serious fraud and corruption. Politicians have echoed these calls, with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna demanding in October that CS Ogamba name the schools and the individuals who withdrew the illicit funds.

CS Ogamba has publicly stated that officials found responsible for the fraud will face legal consequences. He acknowledged that the unreliable data has historically led to budget cuts for the sector and that the clean-up exercise is essential for proper resource allocation. The Ministry is also contemplating major policy changes, including the potential closure or merger of schools found to have unsustainable enrollment numbers.

To address the systemic flaws that allowed the fraud to occur, the Ministry plans to roll out a new data system, the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), by January 2026. This new system is intended to replace the beleaguered NEMIS and provide a more secure and transparent registry of students and schools.

Teachers' unions, including the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), have supported the audit as a necessary step to root out corruption. However, they have also expressed grave concern over the capitation delays, which they say are crippling school operations and affecting learning continuity. The scandal has laid bare the significant governance challenges within the education sector, placing the onus on CS Ogamba to not only release the report but also to implement lasting reforms that will safeguard public funds meant for Kenya's learners.