Kenyans could be losing billions of shillings as a result of mismanagement by publishers, the state curriculum developer and schools.
Audit reviews have highlighted waste, detailing instances where schools have been given books they do not need while experiencing deficits in some subjects.
In other cases, books were subjected to harsh conditions, and thousands of titles were discovered on shelves collecting dust because they were no longer relevant.
Auditors found thousands of textbooks lying unused in libraries with no inventory management systems.
They had been supplied in excess.
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development distributes textbooks on behalf of the Ministry of Education, and it is unclear whether demand is determined by student data.
Auditors discovered cases in which the books were not delivered at all or were distributed late, denying students access to course materials.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has called out state publisher KLB, curriculum development agency KICD, and secondary schools over the mess.
“Books supplied and issued to students were untraceable in some instances,” the auditor general said, adding that taxpayers may not get value for money.
Gathungu has accused the state publisher KLB of hiring a contractor irregularly for a job that should be carried out by the agency.
In the review for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, the auditor said the Kenya Literature Bureau spent more than Sh1.4 billion to outsource a printer, concluding that it was irregular.
“Examination of supporting payment vouchers and schedules revealed that the bureau outsources the bulk of its printing works, thus digressing from its core function of printing and publishing in the country,” Gathungu said.
KLB’s total production costs for the period were about Sh2 billion, accounting for 70 per cent of the total printing works.
As a result, the Bureau printing press generated only Sh615,404,970 ( 30 per cent), indicating that the bureau’s printing service was underutilized, according to Gathungu.
She stated that this has been the trend, referring to the previous year when 79 per cent of printing jobs were outsourced. Section 4 of the Bureau Act of 2012 states that KLB is to publish, print, and distribute literary works of all kinds.
“This means that outsourcing printing services is not legally binding. “In the circumstances, Management violated the law,” Gathungu said