Chief auditor to track expenditure in all public schools. Here is what all principals and school heads are required to do during the exercise
The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) will begin auditing public secondary schools next week, an exercise that seeks to analyze how resources are spent.
The primary secretary for basic education, Dr Julius Jwan, said yesterday that the audit would be conducted directly from the schools for the first time.
Jwan said the audit will be conducted on 10% of schools in each county, covering all categories, ie national, extra-county, county and sub-county schools.
“You know that before our schools were not controlled by the MPC. We pushed for this because sometimes I am called by Parliament to go and explain how the principals use the money, I carry the Bible and I swear I will tell the truth while in the true sense of the word I don’t know exactly how you use the resources you have “, he affirmed the PS, during the symposium of the school directors of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) held in Nairobi.
He told principals that the MPC is constitutionally obliged to access the institutions and obtain all the material they need for their work, so they should be admitted as long as they have identified themselves appropriately.
“The MPC does not need any authorization from the Ministry, as long as it has identified itself as belonging to that office. It’s not something you’re used to, but keep in mind they may not be like our peers we call a school audit but they’re not from the moon either. They are coming to get you involved to see how you use the resources you have, ”the PS explained.
He told principals to desist from the practice of class teachers being mandated to raise money from parents for special purposes.
“In some schools, we know there are times when class teachers can raise money from parents, which is illegal. Class teachers don’t have the power to raise money … I’m just giving you a leak, “he said. Although schools decide to collect motivation fees, which is illegal, the PS said the school must record everything or any other resource that comes to the school because it is still a public resource.
He also urged the principal to provide factual information for all money arriving at the school, saying that the MPC will still settle anything false said during the audit process. Auditors should speak with parents, teachers, and principals.
“We focus on public schools. The government normally controls public institutions. They will do an audit in secondary schools and others will follow later. This is the first time it’s done … it’s money that we shell out without necessarily using it and the principals are also full-fledged CEOs, so it’s important that they are held accountable, “the PS explained.
The PS, however, has ensured that an audit is not carried out because there are irregularities but in order to ensure the proper functioning of the systems.
“We know that schools manage some good resources, in fact some of our large schools manage huge resources compared to some of the Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs), so it is important that those resources are used in a prudent and effective way,” explained Jwan.
“This is why we asked the Auditor General to check some schools directly so that we can get an idea of how we are using the money in these schools,” he added.
ACK school president Edith Koech, also principal of Ossen secondary school, said they had been advised to prepare for such an exercise and that they are prepared.
“This is a normal school routine, we check our books every year. We are prepared for this and whatever they need, we will provide the necessary information. It may come as a shock to most of us, but we understand what auditing is and we will embrace them, ”she said.
