- The special audit team sampled 215 secondary schools in 27 counties that had been funded for the construction of CBC classrooms.
- The construction project was a result of recommendations of the CBC Taskforce, 2020.
Image: GEORGE MURAGE
Competency-based curriculum (CBC) classes were poorly constructed, a report of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu shows.
In her report, Gathungu said interviews with schools’ management revealed that the classrooms were constructed within a short duration of time, two weeks.
She pointed out that the period which was not sufficient to allow concrete curing.
“Therefore, the potential strength and durability of concrete was not fully developed. The short construction duration and insufficient funding resulted in poor quality of the constructed classrooms,” the report stated.
The special audit team sampled 215 secondary schools in 27 counties that had been funded for the construction of CBC classrooms.
Gathungu conducted the audit after the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly requested a letter Ref: NA/DAASC/PAC/2023/106 dated April 26, 2023.
The committee asked Gathungu to undertake a special audit on all expenditures incurred under Article 223 of the Constitution for the period.
In her report, Gathungu noted that the construction project was a result of recommendations of the CBC Taskforce, 2020.
The report said the State Department for Early Learning and Basic Education engaged the State Department for Public Works to develop the budget for building one classroom, which was approximated at a standard amount of Sh788,220.
It added that the amount was arrived at without taking into consideration the terrain and topographical layout across the country.
“In addition, material costs were not standard across the country. The amount was therefore not sufficient for the construction of a standard classroom,” the report said.
The focus of the project was to transition learners from the Primary Level to the Junior Secondary Level.
The aim was to ensure the provision of classrooms for Grade Six students transitioning to Grade Seven, which was to be domiciled in the existing secondary schools.
On October 22, 2021, the then Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua directed the National Treasury to appropriate to the Ministry of Education a total of Sh8 billion in the financial year 2021/2022, out of which an amount of Sh2 billion was funded through Article 223 of the Constitution.
The funds were for the construction of over 10,000 classrooms in secondary schools across all counties in the country.
The classrooms in Phase I of the Project were constructed between November 21, 2021 and June 30, 2022.