Mystery of Baringo’s Nonexistent Schools: Great School Hoax Probe
Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap has denied any involvement in Baringo County’s controversial establishment of fake schools.
Last week, in an exposé, the Nation revealed that several schools in Baringo County lacked physical infrastructure, teachers, or pupils, existing only through elaborately designed signboards, gates, and fences.
Mr. Makilap has denied any knowledge of these schools, establishing them without following the necessary procedures for educational institution registration.
This issue has prompted the Ministry of Education to launch an internal investigation to uncover the motive behind the creation of signboards, gates, and fences for Kaptiony Girls High School, Kampi ya Nyasi Secondary School, and Kasaka Mixed Day Secondary School.
The Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, has requested that Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu investigate the matter. Despite his denial of knowledge about the fake schools, he informed the nation that a national audit of schools would take place later.
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In a letter dated May 13, 2024, Mr. Machogu mentioned that recent reports alleged the presence of fake schools in Baringo County, suggesting that these schools could be a means to siphon public funds via capitation to learners.
Despite initial investigations finding the schools unregistered and not receiving any ministry funding, the letter requested a special audit in the public interest and for accountability purposes to verify these allegations.
Mr. Machogu also wrote to the principal secretary for basic education, Dr. Belio Kipsang, instructing him to ascertain the schools’ registration statuses and whether they had boards of management.
Signboards of Deceit
He emphasized the need to investigate and report on those responsible for the erection of signage and gates for the purported schools, as well as the purpose behind them.
Mr. Machogu indicated that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations would be involved for further probing based on the investigation’s outcomes.
Kiprono Langat, the Baringo North Sub-county Director of Education, told the nation that he had neither participated in the registration of the fake schools nor approved the opening of any related bank accounts.
Mr. Makilap explained that locals had donated the land for a school establishment, and villagers erected signboards and gates to deter land-grabbers.
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Insisting that the community’s actions were non-malicious, he accused critics of spreading propaganda against the Ministry of Education. He clarified that neither the CDF nor the Ministry of Education had allocated any funds to the proposed schools.
The Basic Education Act (2013) outlines that registering a public school begins with an application to the local County Education Board, which must notify the applicant within 30 days if the institution meets prescribed requirements.
An institution must have registered teachers, suitable facilities, and governance structures to qualify. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to Sh20 million or imprisonment for up to three years.
School Scam
In 2017, a Ministry of Education junior officer fraudulently inserted a fictitious institution, Mundeku Secondary School, in Khwisero Sub-county, Kakamega County, and created a bank account for it, receiving Sh11,131,305 in capitation for its non-existent 1,188 learners.
The auditor general’s report figure of Sh27,329,598.95 did not match the amount the prosecuted officer illegally acquired.
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The government allocates Sh22,244 per learner in public schools under the Free Day Secondary Education Programme, disbursed through the National Education Management Information System (Nemis).
A 2017/18 Public Accounts Committee report noted another officer inflated learner numbers in Nemis, leading to an overpayment of Sh269,254,288.
Mystery of Baringo’s Nonexistent Schools: Great School Hoax Probe
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