NAIROBI — The Kenyan government has announced plans to dismantle its troubled education data system and replace it with a new platform designed to track every learner in the country from birth to university graduation.
The new system, dubbed the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), will replace the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), which has faced criticism for inaccuracy and vulnerability to fraud.
At a press conference in Nairobi, Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof. Julius Bitok described the shift as a “critical milestone” in tackling inefficiencies that have long plagued the education sector.
“We are creating a unified, accurate system that will help us plan better, allocate resources more fairly, and stop manipulation of data,” Bitok told journalists on Wednesday. “No more ghost schools or inflated enrolments.”
The Ministry says piloting of the new system will begin in July, with a full rollout expected in September.
A Single Source of Truth
KEMIS will bring together all learner information—from early childhood development (ECDE) to university into one centralized database. It will store records for students, teachers, and institutions and link directly to national civil registries.
The system will assign a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to every child at birth. That same number will follow them through school, and, in the event of death, will become their death certificate number.
“It’s a full-circle system,” said Immigration and Citizen Services PS Dr. Belio Kipsang, whose department is working with the Ministry of Education to tie KEMIS to the national registration system. “This will allow us to track real transitions in and out of the education system.”
The Ministry argues that linking KEMIS with national registration services will ensure more accurate data, particularly in regions where births often go unrecorded.
A Mobile-First Approach
Parents and guardians will be able to access KEMIS through a mobile app. The platform is designed to be accessible even in rural areas, where smartphone use is rising but connectivity remains a challenge.
Officials say the app will allow users to track enrolment, monitor school attendance, and receive updates on school resources and student progress.
It’s a welcome development for some education stakeholders, who have long called for better visibility into how government funds are used in schools.
Parliament Pushes for Budget Support
The announcement comes just weeks after Members of Parliament criticised the National Treasury for slashing the education budget. Among the cuts were key allocations for national exams and the development of KEMIS itself.
“We were surprised by the budget cuts,” said Julius Melly, Chair of Parliament’s Education Committee. “But we will back the Ministry to ensure this system is fully supported by law. You cannot plan without credible data.”
Melly and other lawmakers say KEMIS could play a vital role in future budget planning, especially in distributing funds for teacher deployment, textbooks, and school infrastructure.
Learning From the Past
NEMIS, which launched in 2018, was intended to be a modern data tool. But it quickly became mired in problems mainly inaccurate enrolment figures and concerns over data integrity. There were frequent reports of schools inflating student numbers to claim more funding.
Bitok says KEMIS will solve that.
“The difference is this: we’re not just building another system. We’re cleaning up the whole foundation of how we gather and use education data in Kenya.”
Still, questions remain over implementation. Teachers’ unions and education officers have raised concerns in the past about inadequate training and poor internet access in many schools.
In response, the Ministry said it would deploy a multi-agency taskforce including tech experts, educators, and development partners to ensure smooth adoption across the country.
For now, hopes are high but eyes will remain fixed on whether KEMIS can succeed where NEMIS faltered.
