Nairobi

A damning audit from Kenya’s office of the Auditor-General has revealed that KSh 4.1 billion intended for student bursaries through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) cannot be accounted for in official records.

The report, which covers the fiscal year ending June 2024, shows that in 86 constituencies, there was no documentation—such as acknowledgment slips, school receipts or student admission numbers—to justify spending of KSh 2.1227 billion.

In a further 39 constituencies, officials could not produce minutes from bursary vetting committees or even policy guidelines. This gap in oversight leaves KSh 1.9711 billion of allocation unexplained.

The NG-CDF, launched in 2003, has long been a lifeline for classrooms, police stations and student support across Kenya. Nevertheless, the audit arrives at a moment of heightened sensitivity: a High Court judgment last year declared the fund unconstitutional, ordering its operations to cease by June 30, 2026.

Despite that ruling, some MPs have already tabled legislation to replace the NG-CDF with a new National Government Constituencies Fund (NGCF), hoping to uphold local control of development funds.

In total, the NG-CDF disbursed KSh 17.45 billion in bursaries last year. This included KSh 11.35 billion for secondary learners, KSh 5.78 billion for tertiary students, plus modest sums for special and primary schools.

The audit’s findings cast a long shadow over the fund’s final years and amplify calls for transparency in public education funding.

Why It Matters

For many students, bursaries from NG-CDF were the only path to education. Now, missing records and unexplained disbursements leave their futures—and much-needed reforms—in limbo. Would you like a breakdown of which regions accounted for the largest sums or an infographic on how the NG-CDF's closure could reshuffle education funding?