MPs Unearth Govt Millions Paid to Ghost Students

MPs Unearth Govt Millions Paid to Ghost Students

MPs Unearth Govt Millions Paid to Ghost Students

A few private universities are under investigation by Parliament for receiving funding from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and misusing them.

Vice Chancellors from four universities were invited before the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education on Wednesday, where they were questioned over the deposited cash.

The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) did not place students who were declared to be government-sponsored; students whose enrolment varied; students who were overplaced; duplicate enrollment resulting in an excess of capitation; and students who were paid for deferred or prolonged academic leaves were among the major financial gaps that the Committee discovered, according to Parliament.

According to reports, the government of one university paid Ksh550,312 for 12 students who were identified as government-sponsored but were not assigned by KUCCPS.

In addition, the government kept covering the costs of students whose university studies ran longer than anticipated.

“Amounts Ksh139,224,183 were awarded to 2,872 students who attended the university for longer than anticipated to complete their programs,” the Committee stated.

Further information from the committee clarified that the capitation of extra cash was caused by the duplication of data for 19 pupils.The government allegedly gave 910 students who weren’t placed by KUCCPS a capitation of Ksh38,662,479 to another university.

Furthermore, it was reported that the government had sent capitation to the same university for students whose programs ran longer than previously stated. As a result, MPs gave the Auditor General’s office the order to audit the disputed monies.

According to Parliament’s dispatch, “the office of the Auditor General (AG) has been asked by the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education to undertake a special audit of funds disbursed to Private Universities by the State Department for Higher Education and Research from the financial year 2016/17 to 2022/23.”

The Ministry of Education has previously prohibited KUCCPS from assigning government students to private universities.