A multi-agency team tasked with consolidating existing registers for all students, ranging from foundation learning to university level, to a single database was unveiled Thursday.
The team, which brings together State agencies led by the Ministry of Education, development partners, technology providers and other stakeholders, will set up the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) to replace the current NEMIS which has been criticised for inefficiencies.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok said the piloting of KEMIS will be launched in July this year ahead of full transitioning in September.
He explained that the envisaged KEMIS will create an integrated database that will be relied upon to guide education planning and the allocation of relevant resources.
Parents and other stakeholders will also be able to access KEMIS through a mobile phone-based application.
“The rollout of KEMIS marks a critical milestone in ensuring that data-driven decision-making becomes the cornerstone of education planning and service delivery in Kenya.”
He said KEMIS will also make it impossible to manipulate capitation amounts by registering ghost schools and inflating school populations.
“By consolidating all learner data, from ECDE to higher education, into one platform, the system will enhance accuracy, transparency, and accessibility. It will ensure the government has the right statistics on every school to inform the distribution of teachers, capitation, books and other resources.”
KEMIS will address longstanding challenges in separate registration databases for education levels: Early Childhood and Development Education (ECDE), basic education,TIVETS and universities. It will also consolidate and store data for students, teachers, and institutions.
It will also address emerging issues such as data security and privacy and provide a platform for real-time access to data, enabling monitoring, evaluation and analytics on education transitions and other variables.
Immigration and Citizen Services PS Dr. Belio Kipsang said KEMIS will also be integrated with the births and deaths register through the Civil Registration Services and the National Registration Bureau to provide a unique personal number for every learner.
“Under the Maisha ecosystem, we will provide a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) to every newborn, which will also be used by KEMIS. In the event of death, the UPI will be the death certificate number. This will help us with accurate data on inevitable transitions.”
Members of Parliament, led by Education Committee Chairman Julius Melly, stated that KEMIS will be a useful platform for guiding budget estimates.
“Whoever has accurate data is well placed to make appropriate decisions on budget allocation. We shall support the Ministry’s legislative agenda in Parliament to ensure this transformative system is fully backed by law.”
The statement comes in the wake of uproar by MPs following massive slashing of the Education budget by the National Treasury resulting in zero allocations for national exams and KEMIS.
Besides the Tinderet MP, Mary Emaase (Teso South), Phyilis Bartoo (Moiben) and Joseph Makilap (Baringo North) also witnessed the unveiling of the 15-member team.
Also present was ICT PS John Tanui, whose Department will play a key role through the Konza Technopolis Development Authority and teachers’ union representatives led by KNUT Secretary General Collins Oyuu.
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