State to overhaul Nemis, upgrade to Kemis, says PS Bitok

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said that the ministry is finalising a major upgrade of the system aimed at improving data accuracy on student enrolment across the country.

He said the ministry has started upgrading Nemis to Kenya Educational Management Information System that will end ghost students and schools and inaccurate funding allocations.

“This new system will capture accurate data on all learners and institutions from primary schools to universities, Tvets (technical vocational education and training) and parastatals,” Bitok added.

The PS said the current system has failed to reflect real-time student movement and enrolment numbers, leading to inflated figures and resource wastage.

“Some learners shift from one school to another, some drop out and others are double-counted. Kemis will ensure every learner has a unique, traceable record.”

The PS said the new system would drastically change the way the government disburses capitation funds to schools.

“We are moving to a needs-based model driven by accurate data,” Bitok said, adding that education sector has received Sh720 billion investment under President William Ruto. “This shows how serious we are about transforming the sector,” he said.

On teacher recruitment, Bitok said the government has hired 76,000 teachers in two years and plans to hit 100,000.

“In comparison, previous regimes employed far fewer – 1,000 under Moi annually, 3,000 under Kibaki, and 5,000 under Uhuru. This is the government of teachers,” he said.

Bitok announced that Sh1 billion has been set aside in this year’s budget for promotion of teachers who have stagnated in the same job group for long.

He also said consultations are ongoing for a more comprehensive medical cover for teachers.

On infrastructure, the government plans to construct 1,600 science laboratories in the next three months, adding to the 23,000 classrooms built over the past two years.