House Committee Question Basic Education PS on Free Primary Funds
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has questioned Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr. Richard Belio Kipsang over alleged malpractices in the disbursement of free Primary Education Funds.
The Committee meeting chaired by Nominated MP Hon. John Mbadi at Parliament Buildings noted with concern that the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) was being used to siphon money meant for the programme.
The Members registered their opposition to the planned re-registration of schools that benefit from the programme, noting that the exercise would turn into the main source of corruption.
The Committee noted that there are reports some schools were left out of the programme despite NEMIS being used to register beneficiaries.
According to the auditor’s report, 24,119 schools that received Free Primary Education Funds are sharing the same TSC registration number, raising suspicion of graft.
“How come such a large number of schools are sharing the same TSC registration numbers? This is a scandal that you must deal with,” Hon. Mbadi told the PS.
The Committee noted that the purpose of the Free Primary Education programme might be defeated if the State Department does not get rid of corrupt officers taking advantage to swindle public money.
In his response, the PS stated that the department started using the NEMIS every school is identified using a unique 4 – digit code.
“I can assure the Committee that as of now, through continuous use of NEMIS, it has made the system more effective for the Department when collecting data for disbursement of funds to schools,” stated the PS.
The Committee asked the Department to submit a report that shows how disbursement of funds has been allocated to all registered schools registered using the NEMIS platform in the country.
The PS told the Committee that the NEMIS platform will be changing to Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), a system he said has been reinforced to guard against malpractices.
At the same time, Hon Mbadi gave the PS one week to provide expired lease agreements after the Committee raised the alarm over the amounts paid for each premise that housed the County Education offices.
“I will avail the documented information that the Committee has asked in relation to leases and payments for County Education Offices,” Dr. Kipsang assured the Committee.
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