Education CS George Magoha has warned unscrupulous education officers and teachers against stealing the 653,000 government school desks.
The desks must all be delivered to specific schools and children, he said.
Magoha said some officers and teachers in Migori county are trying to divert some of the desks.
“I have learnt regrettably that some of our unscrupulous officers and teachers are colluding to try and split deliveries so that some are taken elsewhere. I want to warn them in broad daylight and publicly that we will not be sympathetic with you,” he said.
He warned they face arrest, sacking and prosecution.
“We will not handle them with [kid] gloves. If they want to take the risk of stealing from children then let them be sure that their destination is jail,” Magoha said.
The Sh.1.9 billion locally assembled school desks project was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on September 17.
Magoha said no one will be allowed to mess up the project.
He said the Jua Kali artisans hired have delivered half of the desks and the rest will be completed by the end of next week.
Magoha spoke at Langas Primary School in Eldoret where he inspected the desks delivered to the institution.
During the visit, he forced children and teachers out of classrooms to clean the school's compound, saying they must operate in a habitable environment.
Magoha also inspected compliance with Covid-19 control measures at the Eldoret Polytechnic.
The CS accused some officers of being asleep on the job and only emerging when he visits.
“If you can’t work and visit schools for over a year then I don’t need you when I come around,” Magoha said.
He said the officers had failed to ensure that schools comply with Covid-19 control measures.
Magoha said the disease is real and Kenyans must learn to live with it.
“When we say keep social distance we mean it because it is now estimated that 10 percent of the population may be infected and it not possible to easily know or identify who is infected," he said.
“This behaviour of handshaking or the now popular greeting using fists must stop.”
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya
