Education has warned that schools will only get funds based on the number of learners registered on the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) portal as from next term.
A circular issued on the 10th of March by the Principal Secretary of Education, Dr Julius Jwan, stated that the Ministry will not use the manual enrollment record of students in place since 2003 due to its prone to errors.
He asked learning institutions to ensure students are well captured on the Nemis platform by 30th March adding that the Directorate of Primary Education plans to change the mode of Free Primary Education (FPE) disbursement to the Nemis system from April this year.
Schools have till the end of this term to capture learners details on Nemis or miss disbursement of funds next term. The PS further cautioned school heads that they are individually responsible for the data captured on Nemis.
“Headteachers are responsible for any data regarding their school, this minimises chances of human error and any changes and any changes required are made by the headteacher thus ensuring continuous update of data,” said Jwan.
This is the 2nd attempt to adjust the mode of funding learning institutions based on Nemis following a similar attempt that failed back in 2019. The failed attempt was revoked when numerous primary schools failed to capture learners on Nemis.
The school heads maintained the time frame was too small as the process of obtaining birth certificates for their learners was hectic. This year, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced that schools will get Ksh15 billion capitation this week to prepare for KCPE and KCSE exams.
On Thursday 4th CS Magoha stated that the money will cover the balances that principals said were the source of a financial crisis that could threaten the administration of national exams. “We shall release the money next week to schools and therefore no one should try to cause panic or anxiety,” said Prof Magoha.
The disclosure is a huge relief to the 7,000 secondary school heads who had indicated that they may not appropriately prepare for the administration of national exams if the money will not be disbursed.
The Education Ministry released Sh14.6 billion to fund secondary schools and an extra Sh4.6 billion for primary schools during the resumption of learning in January.
School heads accused the government of holding huge sums of money meant for schools, noting that the action could plunge institutions into further crises. The ministry, however, announced that the money released was barely 25 per cent of the total amount that should be sent to schools in the First Term.
The schools maintained that capitation balance by the state was hindering the purchase of chemicals for practicals and apparatus for science subjects. Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESHA) chair Kahi Indimuli said further delays would see thousands of candidates not sit practical exams.
“As we speak, schools do not have money. The government promised to release the final tranche of 25 per cent by the end of February,” Indimuli said last week. However yesterday he welcomed the announcement and wished the money will be wired without fail.
