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Concerns raised in the latest Auditor-General’s report for the 2023/2024 financial year have put Nakuru County’s bursary programme under scrutiny, even as Governor Susan Kihika rolled out a Sh284.4 million disbursement to thousands of students.
The report by the Office of the Auditor-General Kenya highlights persistent weaknesses in the management of bursary funds across counties, including cases of undocumented beneficiaries, inconsistencies in records and challenges in verifying how funds were allocated.
In the 2023/2024 audit cycle, the Auditor-General noted that billions of shillings allocated to bursary programmes by county governments could not be fully accounted for, citing gaps in documentation and weak accountability systems that make it difficult to confirm whether funds reached the intended beneficiaries.
These concerns come at a time when Nakuru County is scaling up its bursary allocations.
On Friday, Kihika presided over the launch of the first tranche of the 2025/2026 bursary fund at Kiamaina Primary School in Bahati Sub-county, announcing that 57,231 students would benefit across secondary schools, colleges, universities, vocational training centres and special institutions.
The governor said the county had allocated Sh447 million to the programme this financial year, an increase from Sh440 million last year, describing the initiative as key to ensuring access to education.
A breakdown of the Sh284.4 million released shows secondary school students received the largest share, followed by colleges, universities, vocational training and special schools.
Bahati Sub-county received Sh25.6 million benefiting 5,885 students.
However, despite the issues raised in the 2023/2024 Auditor-General’s report, the governor’s address did not outline specific measures taken to address accountability gaps or strengthen verification processes in the bursary programme.
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Amos Lumbasi
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