The ongoing enrolment verification exercise is set to trigger mass transfers of teachers, as the Ministry of Education moves to correct mismatches between student numbers and staffing levels.
Preliminary findings show that while some schools are overcrowded and understaffed, others are overstaffed yet under-enrolled. Education CS Julius Ogamba said that redistributing teachers will ensure equitable use of resources across the country.
“This audit gives us a clean picture of the sector. It will help us align teacher distribution with actual learner populations,” explained Prof. Julius Bitok, the Basic Education PS.
The verification has already covered 25,800 schools—about 70 percent of all institutions—most of them secondary schools that urgently needed funding. However, thousands of schools that submitted wrong or incomplete data remain under scrutiny.
According to officials, once the audit is complete, teachers posted to under-enrolled institutions will be moved to schools in need. This will prevent inefficiencies where learners are left unattended in some schools while teachers are idle in others.
The redistribution exercise is expected to be contentious, given past opposition to transfers from teachers’ unions. However, ministry officials argue that the reforms are necessary to restore fairness in the system.
Lawmakers have backed the audit but warned that officials behind data falsification must not escape accountability. “Reshuffles are not enough. People must be punished for the mess that has left our schools underfunded,” said Education Committee chair Julius Melly.
By the end of the exercise, the ministry hopes to realign staffing, secure accurate learner numbers, and improve the efficiency of the capitation programme.
