NAIROBI — A chorus of concern is rising in Parliament over Kenya’s school data system, with lawmakers now demanding a full audit after revelations of missing records, funding errors, and suspected manipulation.
The system in question NEMIS, short for National Education Management Information System tracks student enrolment and determines how billions of shillings in capitation funds are distributed to public schools each year.
But according to both MPs and government officials, the data can no longer be trusted.
“It would seem the State Department does not know the number of learners in our schools,” said Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo during a heated session of the Public Accounts Committee. “If NEMIS is the primary data, we’re flying blind.”
System Under Scrutiny
The outcry follows a 2022/2023 Auditor General’s report, which flagged gaps in how school funds were allocated. The report noted that capitation funds for primary and secondary schools could not be fully accounted for, as the system lacked real-time updates or clear logs of disbursements.
Some MPs accused unnamed cybercafés and even school staff of tampering with the data deleting or altering learner records to affect funding.
Fredrick Muchumba, head of the new Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), admitted to MPs that user credentials had been shared improperly. “Some learners were removed from the system not by schools, but by third parties some simply because they were not paid for their services,” he said.
Missing Learners, Missing Money
Lawmakers shared a string of troubling stories. In some schools, students listed one day vanished the next.
“You close with 300 pupils in the evening, by morning the system shows 100,” said Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera. “If you ask head teachers, they’ll tell you—just scrap NEMIS.”
Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo added, “We can’t move to a new system until we audit this one properly. Who built it? How much did it cost? What’s missing? Let’s get answers first.”
Turkana Central MP Joseph Emathe called it “very unfortunate” that some schools missed funding entirely due to data tampering. “It’s heartbreaking. These are our children. They’re being failed by a system meant to support them.”
Government Response: A New System in the Works
Principal Secretary for Basic Education Julius Bitok acknowledged the system’s failings but defended the government’s efforts to track learners.
“We have 12.6 million learners—6.4 million in primary, 2.9 million in junior secondary, and 3.3 million in senior school,” he told the committee. “We verify these figures monthly through our education offices.”
He confirmed that the government is moving towards KEMIS, a redesigned digital platform meant to fix what NEMIS could not.
The shift comes on the back of recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, which flagged systemic flaws in NEMIS as early as 2023. The new system will feature secure identity verification, audit trails, and tighter oversight, Bitok said.
“We’re working with the government ICT agency CONSA,” he added. “We’ve begun the process to get special clearance from the Attorney General and Treasury to proceed.”
What’s Next?
Committee chair Tindi Mwale (Butere) made clear that any transition must be preceded by accountability.
“The Auditor General must go back and do a proper analysis how much was spent, who upgraded what, and whether system logs can be trusted,” he said.
The fate of Kenya’s education funding and the credibility of its digital records now rests with that pending audit. For lawmakers, it’s about more than fixing a broken system. It’s about restoring public trust in how the country tracks and funds the education of its children.
