Extend deadline for Nemis registration, teachers plead
Teacher unions are requesting that the Ministry of Education prolong the deadline for enrolling students in primary schools within the National Education Management Information System (Nemis).
The registration period in the web-based data management system lapsed at midnight on Easter Monday. The Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (Kepsha) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) indicated that school heads encountered network failures that inhibited data entry into the Nemis portal.
“For the past two weeks, the majority of heads of institutions have been unable to complete the forms in the portal to register students under Nemis, hence the request for an extension of the deadline by a few days,” stated Kepsha national chairperson Fuad Ali.
He advocated for a prompt enhancement of the Nemis system to resolve the technical issues faced by headteachers and expedite the registration of learners.
“Registering learners under Nemis will allow the Ministry of Education to calculate capitation funds for individual schools when they reopen for the second term on February 28, 2025. Heads of institutions have been working tirelessly to register learners as mandated by the ministry, yet many have not achieved success,” Mr. Ali informed reporters on Tuesday.
Nemis was launched by the Ministry of Education on July 31, 2017, with 600 schools participating in a pilot program prior to a comprehensive rollout in January 2018.
As of 2024, more than 10. 4 million learners were recorded in public and private primary schools nationwide, as reported by the Ministry of Education.
To register learners, a head teacher receives a code via email, which is utilized to access the portal and complete the necessary information. However, there have been reports of delays or the non-issuance of the code required to access the system.
Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Collins Oyuu endorsed the appeal for an extension, asserting that it serves the best interests of learners who may face exclusion from the system.
“If there are obstacles hindering learners or heads of institutions from successfully capturing learners’ details, the deadline should be prolonged to facilitate the onboarding of all,” stated Mr. Oyuu.
He urged the Ministry of Education to respond positively to the requests of heads of institutions to enable the registration of all learners, which is crucial for effective planning and funding.
“It is not advantageous for anyone to exclude any learner from registration,” he remarked.
Speaking in Bomet County, Mr. Oyuu stressed that every child’s right to access education ought to be upheld and supported through government funding.
“We are making a modest appeal to the ministry to grant teachers additional time to record learners’ details, given the network challenges encountered over the past few weeks,” he added.
Capitation funds
The Ministry of Education only disburses capitation funds for learners who are registered in the Nemis portal, not for those recorded solely in a school’s physical register.
“For instance, if a school has 800 students and only 200 are registered with Nemis, the ministry will not acknowledge the additional 600, regardless of their physical presence in the school and their inclusion in the school’s hard copy register,” stated Knut’s first national chairman, Malel Langat.
A significant obstacle in registering students in Grades 1–3 is the absence of birth certificates, an issue that institutional heads report has persisted for many years.
“Students under the guardianship of relatives, particularly their grandparents, frequently do not possess birth certificates. This is a critical matter that the government must address. These young children require assistance in obtaining essential registration documents,” remarked a head teacher in Bomet County.
A birth certificate is necessary to create an examination assessment number for the student. Subsequently, Nemis assigns a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to each student, which they will use throughout their educational experience. The system also tracks each student’s place of birth, parental information, schools attended, and academic achievements.
The Nemis utilizes the registration data from Nemis to allocate textbooks to educational institutions. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogambo recently underscored the significance of Nemis in the management of schools.
“Nemis is integral to the administration of educational institutions, particularly in determining government funding,” Mr. Ogambo stated during a recent visit to the Konoin and Sotik constituencies in Bomet County.