All schools across the country will now be required to re-register under the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) as the Ministry of Education intensifies efforts to stamp out ghost institutions from the education sector.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba made the announcement during a live interview on Egesa FM on Tuesday, August 5, stating that the new system is designed to enhance transparency, accountability, and data accuracy in the education sector.
“Going forward, to solve the problem of ghost schools, all institutions that had previously registered under NEMIS will be required to re-register on KEMIS, the new system. This will help us clean up the data,” Ogamba explained.The KEMIS school re-registration process will not only update current school records but also act as a verification tool to confirm the legitimacy of each institution. According to the CS, the system will capture key details such as a school’s location, enrollment numbers, and staff data.
“We use the system to know the school, where it is, the number of students, and the number of teachers. It gives us a credible picture of the system,” he added.Ogamba strongly condemned the existence and operation of ghost schools, terming them a serious offense and an act of fraud.
“There is no government policy that supports this. That is an offense, and I stand by that. We have formed a task force within the ministry working alongside the Office of the Auditor General. We are flagging such cases, and this time, we are going to deal with it once and for all.”The issue of ghost schools came out after a Members of Parliament raised concerns over mis-allocated funds, revealing Ksh1.3 billion meant for school infrastructure was allegedly directed to non-existent institutions.
In response, Ogamba assured the public that KEMIS will also be used to ensure that government funding only reaches verified school accounts, not individuals.
Originally built as an upgrade of the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), KEMIS was meant to track student and staff data. However, under the current reforms, the platform will now include institutional verification to prevent duplication and ghost listings.
On a related note, the Education CS also addressed concerns around university fees and funding delays from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).
He revealed that university tuition fees had been reduced by between 15% and 30%, a move aimed at relieving parents and guardians struggling with the rising cost of education.
“We are listening. We want to ensure that education remains accessible, especially during these challenging economic times,” Ogamba noted.
