Limuru Girls High School has defended its enrolment records after an audit found discrepancies between the number of students physically recorded at the institution and figures captured in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), resulting in an additional Sh785,946 in capitation.
Chief principal Susan Kariuki told the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education that the variance was caused by differences in learner records during the reporting periods and was not a deliberate attempt by the school to inflate its student population.
The committee, chaired by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, was examining Auditor-General reports on Limuru Girls and other national schools covering the financial years 2020/2021 to 2024/2025.
According to the audit report for the year ended June 2024, NEMIS recorded 2,099 students at the school in September 2023, compared with 2,062 in the institution’s physical records.
In January 2024, the system showed 2,300 learners against 2,253 in the school records, while the May 2024 NEMIS figure stood at 2,354 compared with 2,253 physically recorded students.
The differences led to an additional Sh785,946 being disbursed to the school through capitation.
Kariuki told MPs that the figures were not deliberately manipulated, saying the school had since strengthened measures to ensure information submitted to the Government matched its own records.
“The school did not intentionally provide inflated enrolment figures,” Kariuki said.
She added that the institution was now reconciling NEMIS/KEMIS data with admission and class attendance records before submitting learner information.
The explanation, however, prompted questions from MPs on how the school handled the additional funds generated by the higher figures.
“So, because you are given more money, where do you take it?” Maungu asked.
Kariuki said Limuru Girls was itself operating below the prescribed capitation level. She told the committee that the Government was expected to provide Sh22,244 per learner, but the school was receiving about Sh15,000.
Maungu said the committee’s concern was not the wider funding shortage but the discrepancy in the number of learners used to determine the allocation.
“What we are saying is that you are supposed to get funding for 1,000 students, but you got funding for 1,100 students,” he said, referring to the additional learners as “ghost” students.
Kilome MP Thaddeus Nzambia said the committee should treat the enrolment discrepancy separately from the broader problem of inadequate capitation. Central MP Moses Kirima and Narok Woman Representative Rebecca Tonkei also sought clarification on the school’s handling of learner information and discrepancies involving NEMIS.
Kariuki maintained that the school had followed the required procedures and informed the relevant State Department after receiving the funds.
The committee also questioned the school over a separate audit finding involving a Sh9 million fixed-deposit investment made during the financial year ended June 2025.
The investment generated about Sh116,000 in interest over three months, but the transaction was not reflected in the school’s cash-flow statement and the interest earned had not been accounted for. The Auditor-General consequently raised questions about the accuracy and completeness of the Sh43.56 million reported as cash and cash equivalents.
Kariuki described the omission as an oversight, explaining that the school was transitioning from cash-basis accounting to accrual accounting under International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
She said the school had expected to recognise the interest when the fixed deposit matured but acknowledged that the amount earned during the financial year should have been included in that year’s accounts.
The school bursar also described the omission as an oversight, noting that it was the institution’s first fixed-deposit investment and had coincided with the accounting transition.
Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje noted that the investment had generated about Sh116,000 within three months, while Kirima said the audit concern centred on disclosure and accounting for the interest rather than the decision to invest the funds.
Tonkei urged the school to ensure all income generated from public funds is properly captured in future financial statements.
The school told the committee it had put measures in place to improve both enrolment verification and financial reporting and prevent similar audit queries from recurring.