From inadequate classrooms to no latrines: Inside sorry state of Nakuru ECDEs

 An audit on the provision of Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) by Nakuru County has shown glaring gaps ranging from insufficient learning materials, latrines, age-appropriate furniture for learners to delays in the completion of infrastructure projects.

A performance audit dated September 2026 has shown there was no explanation as to why the county had failed to prioritize the core functions in the education department.

The report states that allocation of funds to non-core county functions like bursaries results in inadequacies in infrastructure, teachers and learning materials among other essential requirements for provision of quality pre-primary education.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said in the report that the County had a deficit of an estimated 763 classrooms while 573 and 584 pre-primary schools lacked dedicated latrines for boys and girls respectively.

“Had the allocations for bursaries for the period under review been channeled to ECDE, the County would have provided 339 pre-primary schools each with one classroom equipped with furniture, four door latrines and a urinal at an estimated cost of Sh3 million,” Gathungu said.

The audit covered the period from Financial Years 2022/23 to March 2026, with the auditor observing that the timeline was considered sufficient to establish the trend in provision of pre-primary education.

“The County Government of Nakuru has not provided sufficient and appropriate school infrastructure for the pre-primary learners. Majority of the pre-primary schools lacked sufficient classrooms, latrines, age-appropriate furniture, and fixed play equipment,” she said.

Some of the existing infrastructure was dilapidated as the County did not prioritise maintenance in addition to the absence of disability-friendly school infrastructure, which undermined inclusivity for learners with special needs.

On learning materials, Gathungu said the county has not ensured sufficient allocation of learning materials to learners in pre-primary schools thus compromising the quality of pre-primary education which is the foundation of primary education.

The burden of providing ECDE learning materials had been shifted to parents as the county only provided activity books to learners.

But the report indicated that the county has consistently provided porridge, which is important for learners' concentration and well-being.

The audit has also established a shortage of classrooms with only 404 representing 38 per cent of the 1,062 schools, meeting the recommended number of 25 learners per classroom, while 658, representing 62 per cent, exceeded the requirement.

“This resulted in congestion, limited space for learning activities and minimal one-on-one interaction between the teacher and learners, thereby limiting effective curriculum delivery,” Gathungu explained.

At the same time, physical verification revealed semi-permanent and poor condition of classrooms, including damaged floors, leaking roofs, and cracked and unpainted walls.

According to the auditor, these conditions posed health and safety risks to the learners, with a significant number of the schools lacking ramps or rails, limiting accessibility for learners with disabilities.

Insufficient and inappropriate classrooms was attributed to delays in completion of infrastructure projects, inadequacies in planning and budgeting for school infrastructure and low absorption of allocated funds.

Similarly, the audit established insufficiency of latrines in the schools and where schools that had dedicated for pre-primary learners, the latrine-to-child ratio was 1:41 and 1:42 for boys and girls respectively, which exceeded the recommended standards of 1 :10 for girls, and 1:30 for boys with a urinal.

The audit established that only 36 out of 1,062 schools representing 3.4 per cent had fixed play equipment, which limits learners' opportunities to develop psychomotor skills, potentially hindering achievement of developmental milestones.

The insufficiency of play equipment was attributed to inadequate prioritization of provision of play equipment.

The audit also revealed that 424 schools, representing 40 per cent of the 1062 schools in the County had insufficient furniture.

“Physical verification in the 18 sampled schools revealed age-inappropriate furniture, including high benches without backrests, as well as old and unstable desks. This shortfall resulted in many learners sharing the few available furniture, which compromised learners' comfort, posing risks to their physical development and limiting effective learning,” the report states.

There were also delays in implementation of infrastructure projects, with incomplete, stalled, or yet to commence projects.

Out of 481 planned projects during the period under review, the audit showed that 323, representing 67 per cent remained incomplete at the time of audit fieldwork in July last year.

In the financial year 2022/2023, 90 out of 91 projects initiated, representing 99 per cent were incomplete by year end, while in the FY 2023/2024, 138 out of 204 projects, representing 68 per cent were incomplete at the close of the financial year.

“The delays were attributed to insufficient budget allocations arising from budget cuts, reallocation of funds to other votes, and low project costing that resulted in non-responsive tenders and contractors declining tender awards,” the report states.

The auditor also raised issues around insufficient number of teachers, with 57 per cent of the schools not meeting the recommended teacher-to-learner ratio of 1:25.

Further, each pre-primary class had only one teacher instead of the required two, with staffing data revealing that the county had only employed 847 teachers, representing 38 per cent while 1,383 teachers, representing 62 per cent of the total teaching staff, were employed by Boards of Management (BoM).

“The high teacher-to-learner ratio limited individualised attention to learners, affected class control, and constrained preparation of improvised learning materials due to excessive workload. Reliance on BoM-employed teachers compelled schools to charge fees to cater for their salaries, thus transferring the financial burden to parents for a service that should be free,” the performance audit stated.

The insufficient number of teachers was attributed to lack of prioritization and inadequate budget allocation for teacher recruitment.

The audit has also shown that 181 teachers, representing 16 per cent of BoM teachers, were not registered with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which posed a risk because they may not be subject to the teachers' code of conduct in cases of misconduct.

According to the report, the employment of unregistered BoM teachers was attributed to limited oversight by the County Government and School Boards of Management in ensuring only registered teachers are employed.