Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed that a whopping Sh3.99 billion which was channeled towards the construction of Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) classrooms cannot be accounted for.

In her latest report for the 2022/23 Financial Year, the Auditor highlights various anomalies in construction of the classrooms, including queries about pricing and poor workmanship.

Gathungu also questions how the State Department for Basic Education spent Sh1.6 billion on scholarships.

Report also reveals that upto 7,340 Grade Seven learners did not receive any capitation amounting to Sh110.1 million due to inadequate data.

In 2022, the National government announced that it intended to construct 10,000 CBC classrooms under the schools infrastructural development programme to facilitate its 100 per cent transition policy to secondary schools.

Report questions how the thousands of classrooms constructed under the programme were priced.

It in particular raises queries regarding how the State Department settled on Sh709,398 as the standard cost of a single classroom across the country given that bills of quantities and results of market surveys were not provided for audit.

Further, it also states that the terrain and topographical layout of the schools across the country varied and therefore it was not possible to have a standard rate.

“Management did not provide explanations on the specific procurement method that was used and how the various suppliers were identified. Similarly, there was no evidence that the prices had been adjusted for inflation to reflect the current market rate for acquisition of construction materials. The standard amount of Sh709,398 allocated was not sufficient for construction of a classroom of the required standard,” the report.