School heads across the country are up in arms over the directives made by the Ministry of Education MoE, requiring all schools to submit (Unique Personal Identifier) UPI forms on every learner to clear the way for the release of the third term capitation fund.
The school heads who spoke to one of the local daily expressed their dissatisfaction saying that the process of verifying over 1000 learners details is time consuming considering the limited time they have for the examination preparation.
“We’ve been asked to verify details and submit the UPIs of each student, but this process is time-consuming,” said one principal from a boarding school in the Coast region. The principal said the school has over 1,000 students, many of whom do not have birth certificates, a requirement for obtaining a UPI. “When will I complete this assignment with such a tight deadline? And who will cater for the capitation of these learners with no birth certificates?” asked the principal.
Another chief principal of a national school also expressed confusion over why MoE is cleaning data now, given that schools have already reopened. “Why wait until now? This could have been done during the holidays. We’re in the middle of preparing for revisions and examinations, and now we’re being asked to gather the UPIs for every student,” complained the chief principal.
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He noted that the ministry previously used the National Education Management Information System (Nemis) data to disburse capitation funds. However, learners’ not captured in Nemis were also exclud- ed from funding due to lack of birth certificates.
Heads of institutions say many learners still lack the crucial document, meaning they miss out on cap- itation despite being physically in school. Another principal from the Nyanza region raised concerns about the fate of students without a UPI. “Many of our students don’t have birth certificates, so they weren’t captured in the UPI system. The timing of this is suspicious.
“The government has access to all the data it needs; why it couldn’t clean the data while the students were on holiday?” asked the principal of a girls’ school. “Is this a deliberate move to undermine the education sector?”
This comes at the verge when schools are preparing candidates for national examinations including the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), all scheduled between October and November.
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“We’ve been asked to verify documents before the capitation funds can be released,” explained a principal from the Rift Valley region. “But in the meantime, we have bills to pay—water, electricity food, among others. Are we expected to let these students go hungry? It’s disheartening that these issues are cropping up just as we approach examination time.”
Another principal urged parents to pay their school fees to ease the financial burden. “Parents begged us to allow them a week until they received their salaries. That time has passed, and unfortunately we had no other option but to send the students home,” said a principal from the Eastern region.
The National Parents Association chairperson, Silas Obuhasa is now callin on parents to fulfill their role by paying school fees to ensure their children’s continued education.
By Juma Ndigo
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