A 15-member multi-agency taskforce was unveiled on Wednesday to create a single, tamper-proof register for every learner in Kenya—from early childhood centres to universities—ushering in what education officials say will be a new era of data-driven planning and funding.
The group, chaired by the Ministry of Education and supported by technology partners, development agencies and other State departments, will pilot the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) in July before a country-wide switch-over in September.
The new platform is designed to replace the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), which has long been faulted for loopholes that allow ghost learners, inflated enrolment figures and slow data retrieval.
Basic Education Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok framed the rollout as a watershed moment for policymakers.
“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," Kipsang said.
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Prof Bitok added that accurate, real-time numbers will finally close the door on fictitious capitation claims.
"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," Bitok stated.
To achieve seamless identification, the new database will be linked to the civil registry so that each child receives a lifelong code at birth.
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Dr Belio Kipsang explained how that link will work.
“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," Kipsang stated.
Besides officials from the education and ICT ministries, the launch drew lawmakers from the National Assembly’s Education Committee. Committee chair Julius Melly said the seamless flow of verified statistics would sharpen Parliament’s scrutiny of future budgets.
“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," Melly said.
His comments came only days after MPs protested deep cuts to the education vote, including the removal of funds for both national examinations and KEMIS.
Teso South MP Mary Emaase, Moiben MP Phyllis Bartoo and Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap joined their chair at the event to press the case for restored financing.
Digital infrastructure for the project will be guided by ICT Principal Secretary Eng John Tanui through the Konza Technopolis Development Authority, while classroom-level feedback will be channelled by Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary-General Collins Oyuu.
Once operational, KEMIS will allow parents and other stakeholders to view a learner’s records through a mobile application, tighten privacy controls, and provide ministry planners with dashboards for real-time analytics on enrolment, teacher deployment and progression rates.
The platform is also expected to ease transitions between education tiers, a chronic pain-point under the old, fragmented systems.
With pilot tests just weeks away, the ministry now faces two immediate tasks: securing parliamentary approval for the legal framework underpinning KEMIS and persuading the Treasury to release the cash that will turn the database from code into classrooms-ready reality.
