NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 13 – Head of Public Service Felix Koskei has raised concerns over governance weaknesses in schools, warning that poor oversight and mismanagement of resources threaten accountability in the education sector.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with more than 50,000 school heads, deputies and education officials, Koskei outlined 13 governance and management gaps affecting learning institutions.
“As public institutions, schools are entrusted with significant public resources and responsibilities. These require strong systems of accountability and proper management,” he said.
Koskei cited weak procurement practices, including failure to follow competitive bidding procedures and engagement of unqualified suppliers. He also warned against conflicts of interest, where some board members supply goods and services to the same schools they oversee.
He further flagged poor maintenance of school infrastructure, warning that neglect of classrooms, sanitation facilities and electrical installations could create unsafe learning environments.
Koskei also raised concerns over weak oversight of school feeding programmes, misuse of school property, inadequate disaster preparedness and irregular hiring of support staff.
The meeting included officials from the Teachers Service Commission, among them acting CEO Evaline Mitei and chairman Jamleck Muturi.
Koskei also warned against inaccurate student enrolment data, noting that discrepancies could lead to misallocation of capitation funds meant for learners.
