A recent report from Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed concerns over how counties have been handling funds meant for scholarships and bursaries.
The audit shows that out of the Ksh11.12 billion allocated to counties for this purpose, only Ksh9.8 billion was spent, leaving an unspent balance of Ksh1.3 billion.
Even more concerning is that seven counties could not account for a total of Ksh886.7 million in bursary allocations.
The affected counties include Nakuru with Ksh382.9 million, Nairobi with Ksh301.4 million, and Kakamega with Ksh128.9 million. Others are Garissa with Ksh5.3 million, Taita Taveta, Isiolo with Ksh24 million, and Samburu with Ksh44.1 million.
Isiolo also had an unreconciled difference of Ksh30 million between its Scholarship and Bursaries Fund records and its County Executive’s financial statements.
The report notes that some counties failed to provide any supporting documents for the bursary allocations or acknowledgement receipts from schools.
In Kericho and Bomet, the distribution of bursaries was found to be unfair, raising concerns over bias and exclusion of deserving students.
In Narok, Ksh886,000 was reportedly used for purposes unrelated to education. In Kiambu, cheques worth Ksh1 million were left uncollected for long periods, rendering them stale.
The report also highlights cases where counties overspent their allocations, with Kiambu exceeding by Ksh92.9 million, Mandera by Ksh44.9 million, and Kericho by Ksh16.5 million.
On the other hand, Migori had an unspent balance of Ksh1 billion, followed by Wajir with Ksh78.3 million and Tana River with Ksh61.3 million.
Discrepancies between financial statements were also found in several counties.
For example, in West Pokot, one financial record showed Ksh608 million while another indicated Ksh600 million.
In Nairobi, irregularities included missing documentation for executive scholarships, with Ksh3.7 million awarded to applicants who could not be traced.
There were also cases where scholarship forms lacked the required committee and head teacher recommendations. Institutions that received bursaries failed to provide acknowledgements confirming receipt of funds.
In Lamu, Ksh126.9 million allocated for bursaries and scholarships was used to fund activities that fall under the mandate of the national government.
Kitui had a similar case, with Ksh84 million spent on functions meant for the national government.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, Ksh14.5 million was paid to Kenya Medical Training College for nursing students despite the county already having an education fund for such purposes.
In Migori, Ksh120 million was transferred to the ward development fund for bursaries, and Ksh23 million was linked to the Inua Elimu scholarship programme.
These findings come shortly after the Auditor General raised similar concerns about bursary misuse in various constituencies, painting a troubling picture of financial management in the counties.
