Counties are failing to give young learners decent early childhood classrooms, according to new performance audits by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu. The Star reported that the findings cover Nakuru, Murang'a and Narok. The audits found overcrowding, teacher shortages, scarce learning materials and poor buildings in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centres. They also question why counties prioritise bursaries over pre-primary education, which the constitution assigns to them.
In Nakuru, only 404 of 1,062 ECDE centres met the standard of 25 learners per classroom. Some classrooms had damaged floors, leaking roofs and cracked walls. In all, 573 schools, or 54 per cent, had no toilets for boys, and 584, or 55 per cent, had none for girls. None of the 18 sampled schools had disability-friendly latrines. Five had openings wider than the recommended 20cm by 15cm, which the report said put children at risk of falling in.
Where toilets existed, there was one for every 41 boys and one for every 42 girls. The standard is one for every 30 boys and one for every 10 girls. The report said the shortage caused long queues, lost lesson time and learners soiling themselves. Each activity book was shared by between 81 and 166 learners, against a target of one per child.
Nakuru employed 847 ECDE teachers, while school boards hired 1,383, or 62 per cent of the workforce. Schools then had to charge parents fees to pay those teachers. According to the report, this shifted the cost of a service that should be free onto households.
Murang'a built 161 classrooms and rehabilitated 327 centres during the review period, but problems remain. The audit found that 518 centres, or 77 per cent, sit inside primary schools and share toilets with older pupils. Only 204 schools met the teacher-to-learner ratio. Of the county's 1,052 ECDE teachers, 93 per cent were on contract and seven per cent were interns. That runs contrary to the 2021 scheme of service. Teachers received equal pay regardless of qualifications. Their only training on the Competency-Based Education curriculum in 2024-25 was a one-day workshop.
The bursary findings were just as stark. In Narok, 201 of 202 application forms reviewed, or 99.5 per cent, were incomplete and lacked county executive committee approval. Only 59 had the required documents, and 89 had no school attendance reports. Some 159,922 beneficiaries received an average of KSh 8,400 each over four years. That covered only 21 per cent of approved fees.
The report warned that needy students with large fee arrears risked dropping out, while students with lower needs benefited.