Why MPs have ordered Nemis audit

Lawmakers are demanding a special audit of the system managing data for the distribution of billions in free primary and secondary education funds.

The Public Accounts Committee issued the recommendation despite a defence mounted by the Education Ministry over queries about the system.

The committee, chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale wants the inspection conducted immediately, including on why students were missing out on capitation.

The National Education Management Information System has been plagued by irregularities since its rollout.

There are concerns that not all schools have been incorporated into the system, which costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of shillings to buy and maintain.

Some of the schools also share identifier codes, triggering concerns that they could be conduits for siphoning cash.

In the recent past, an audit red-flagged how unscrupulous officers created nonexistent schools that got capitation.

“The committee recommends that the Auditor General conduct a systems audit report on Nemis,” the powerful committee said.

This was after a review of audit findings in the review of the departments’ books of accounts for 2022.

Among the queries PAC engaged the ministry on included concerns that the schools were sharing bank accounts.

As such, the accuracy and authenticity of subsidies for free day secondary school education could not be confirmed.

Ministry officials, led by then Education PS Belio Kipsang, admitted before PAC that the cases existed owing to a problem with Nemis.

The ministry said Nemis had not been configured at that time to reject the use of duplicate bank accounts.

Kipsang told MPs that the system has since been changed to ensure that no two accounts will be used to allocate funds to the same school.

But the committee, despite saying it noted the submission, wants a further review conducted to ascertain the loopholes.

Auditors also raised concerns that schools were sharing codes, while some had codes purported to be from TSC.

In 2022, an audit red-flagged more than 3,480 schools that were assigned TSC codes that did not match the ministry’s. Some shared registration numbers.

MPs said the state department ought to have had its unique identifier codes for schools, rather than relying on TSC, whose mandate is limited to teachers.

PAC recommended that all schools be on-boarded to the Nemis system within three months after the report is adopted in plenary.

It directed the accounting officer – a post now held by Julius Bitok following recent transfers - to ensure schools have unique identifier codes within three months.

Gathungu recently revealed that the government failed to prove ownership of Nemis, placing the Education department under scrutiny.

During the review, officials did not submit copyright registration or reservation documents as legally required.

Management also neglected to provide records identifying officers assigned to specific system tasks.

State agents further withheld details on the roles of various actors in Nemis development, maintenance, administration, compliance, and control.

Beyond ownership gaps, Gathungu noted weak internal controls, jeopardising data integrity.

Officials also omitted documentation explaining Nemis functionality and data security to users.

Due to these concerns, the auditor general flagged irregularities in Sh239 million spent on recent system re-engineering.

A new server was installed at a secondary site during the upgrade, yet ownership documents for the re-engineered Nemis were not provided.

“Value for money may not have been realised in the Sh239 million expenditure on the re-engineering of Nemis,” Gathungu stated.

The government was supposed to receive signed handover documents, including a booklet detailing system functionalities.

According to the audit, the government lacks clarity on system scalability, data security, and business continuity.

Developers also failed to show how issues from the original Nemis were resolved. Teachers have also called for a probe into the system, citing interference by the ministry.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The government recently unveiled plans to integrate Nemis with the Social Health Authority portal. The ministry says the objective of the system is to guide decision-making.