Kenya’s education sector is facing a major policy shift as the Ministry of Education (MoE) enforces full migration of all learning institutions into the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), with school funding now directly tied to compliance.
In a directive issued through the Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Julius Bitok, school heads have been placed on notice that failure to register on KEMIS will result in automatic loss of government capitation starting next term. The move effectively makes the system a compulsory gateway for access to public education funding.
The directive covers all categories of institutions, including public and private primary and secondary schools, junior and senior schools, TVET institutions, and universities. The Ministry has warned that any institution not captured in the system will be excluded from third-term capitation, triggering urgent compliance efforts among administrators across the country.
KEMIS is designed to replace fragmented data systems with a centralized national education database that integrates all levels of learning. It also links key agencies such as the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), with the aim of improving coordination, eliminating duplication of records, and strengthening learner tracking.
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Under the new funding framework, capitation will be processed exclusively through KEMIS. This means only verified institutions will receive government disbursements, effectively rendering non-compliant schools ineligible for state funding.
The government says the rollout is intended to enhance transparency, improve accountability in education financing, and address long-standing challenges such as delayed disbursement, inconsistent enrollment data, and the existence of ghost schools or inflated student numbers. Officials describe the system as part of a broader digitisation drive across the public sector.
According to the Ministry, more than 8,000 secondary schools have already been onboarded onto the platform, with nationwide registration ongoing. However, authorities have maintained that no extensions will be granted once the funding cycle under the new system begins.
By Hillary Muhalya
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