Audit Exposes 87,000 Ghost Learners in Kenya as Schools Pocket Billions
A national audit has exposed deep flaws in Kenya’s basic education system after investigators uncovered 87,000 ghost learners embedded in official government databases with no physical presence in any school.
The fake entries quietly drained public funds year after year. Auditors also found non-existent and non-operational schools that remained on official records and continued to influence capitation-linked allocations, even though classrooms stood empty.
The revelations have raised urgent questions about data integrity, accountability, and who benefited while genuine learners struggled with overcrowded classrooms and scarce resources.
How the Ghost Learners Were Uncovered
The nationwide verification exercise ran between September and October 2025. Auditors cross-checked school registers, physical headcounts, and digital enrollment records.
What they found was startling.
A total of 87,000 learners existed only on paper and in computer systems. No teachers taught them. No classrooms housed them. Yet their names inflated enrollment figures and shaped funding decisions.
The audit also flagged 26 public schools that had closed years earlier but were still active in government records. Sixteen were primary schools and ten were secondary schools. Officials cited insecurity, prolonged learner shortages, and unresolved community disputes as reasons for closure.
Despite this, the schools remained listed and continued to distort national education data.
Schools Named in the Audit
Primary schools cited in the audit included Bisanavi and Eldara (Isiolo County), Ngechu (Murang’a), Kisauni Baptist (Mombasa), Acheimen and Musebet (Kericho), Masalale North (Wajir), Kambi Otha (Isiolo), Manooni and Soma (Kitui), Kambi Samaki (Garissa), Toboiyat (Nandi), Mbaru Primary (West Pokot), Unyeeo Primary (Makueni) and Nyagakiru Primary (Chuka).
Secondary schools flagged included Ngamba Secondary (Murang’a), Kira Secondary (Nyandarua), Ragia Forest Secondary (Kiambu), Dr Mashenge Moheto (Migori), Maji Mazuri Mixed Secondary (Baringo), Mugwandi Secondary (Kirinyaga), France Bulovi Secondary (Kakamega), Kara Secondary, Father Lia’s Temple Secondary, and Loita Secondary.
Auditors said weak controls allowed ghost learners to persist for years. Some schools with fewer than ten learners still received funds, while in other cases enrollment registers were never updated to reflect reality.
How Ghost Learners Drained KSh 1.1 Billion
The audit estimates that Kenya lost about KSh 1.1 billion every year through capitation linked to ghost learners and defunct schools.
Capitation funding follows headcounts. Inflated numbers meant inflated allocations. The money flowed quietly, spread thinly across the system, and escaped early detection.
The verification exercise also led to a sharp correction in national enrollment figures. Public school enrollment dropped from 11.6 million to just over 11 million learners, leaving more than half a million learners unaccounted for. Investigators linked much of the discrepancy to fake entries, delayed updates, and schools that no longer existed.
Ministry Response and Pushback
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba addressed claims that the government directly paid KSh 1.1 billion to ghost schools.
He rejected that framing, saying the ministry withheld funds from about 990 schools that failed to submit verified data during the audit. He drew a distinction between non-existent schools and administrative inconsistencies that led to frozen payments.
Even so, auditors warned that overreliance on unverified data had distorted planning, staffing, and funding across the education sector.
Cleanup Drive and What Comes Next
The Ministry of Education has launched a cleanup drive. It has already closed 10 secondary schools found to have zero learners after verification.
All schools have been ordered to re-register under the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) by the end of 2025. Capitation is now strictly tied to verified data, a move that has slowed payments to some legitimate schools but is intended to restore credibility.
CS Ogamba asked for time until early 2026 to complete investigations into staff records, bank accounts, and county-level links connected to the fraud. He said administrative and criminal action would follow once responsibility is established.
A System on Trial
The audit sends a stark warning. Ghost learners thrive where oversight is weak. They divert funds from books, meals, teachers, and classrooms that genuinely need support.
Kenya now faces a critical test. It must complete the cleanup, publish accountability outcomes, and lock the system against manipulation. Without that resolve, the numbers will lie again—and public money will continue vanishing into empty desks.
