The government has released the first tranche of capitation funds to schools following the reopening of the third term, Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok has announced.

Speaking during the Elimu Mashinani stakeholder engagement at Maasai Mara University in Narok County, Prof. Bitok confirmed that the funds were dispatched last week.

He added that a stringent verification process is underway to ensure the money reaches only the intended beneficiaries.

“I want to confirm to the country that the government has released the first batch of capitation to schools. That was done last week,” he said.

Prof. Bitok further explained that the Ministry received the allocation from the National Treasury on Wednesday, after which the verification process began.

He indicated that the Ministry of Education is carrying out a thorough verification exercise to ensure accountability in the release of funds.

This comes after the Ministry of Education launched a nationwide verification of schools and learners to curb the misuse of capitation funds, following revelations in the Auditor-General’s report that millions of shillings were fraudulently disbursed over the past four years to ghost schools that do not exist or are already closed.

“The government decided that we have to do verification of the number of learners, the number of schools, where the money is going, the accounts, and everything else,” he explained.

“So we started the process of verifying last week, and I want to report that the process is smooth,” he said, adding: “As of this morning, we have received more than 20,000 out of our 30,000 schools that have verified.”

The exercise, he said, is expected to be completed by September 5th, 2025. He affirmed that, by Friday, all schools, with the support of county and sub-county directors of education, will have been verified to confirm that learner numbers, school records, and account details are accurate.

At the same time, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the government has put in place policies and measures to guarantee the successful implementation of Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET).

He explained that the reforms include hiring more teachers, constructing modern classrooms, retooling existing staff, and ensuring tutors remain motivated.

To support a smooth rollout of the CBE programme, Ogamba noted that the government has hired the largest number of tutors in the country’s history.

“We are doing one of the biggest education reforms that has ever taken place in this country, and as you are aware, we are changing the system from 8-4-4 to the Competency-Based Education system,” Ogamba said at Maasai Mara University.

He reported that the administration has so far recruited 76,000 teachers and constructed 16,000 classrooms, while significantly increasing the education sector’s budgetary allocation.

“When this administration came into office, and from the manifesto that we had, we promised that we would employ 116,000 teachers,” he said.

“We have so far done 76,000 teachers. We are going to do another 24,000, which will leave us with a balance of 16,000.”