MPs demand urgent audit of school data system

Legislators have ordered a systems audit of the platform responsible for managing school data, raising concerns over its role in the disbursement of billions in education funding.

The National Education Management Information System (Nemis), used to manage student records and release capitation funds, is under scrutiny after reports of missing students and irregular payments.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by Butere MP Tindi Mwale, wants the Auditor General to immediately assess the system’s performance and integrity, including how it may have contributed to schools missing out on funding.

The Education Ministry, represented by former Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, admitted that in the past, schools were allowed to share bank account details, which made it hard to verify accurate capitation.

"The system has since been changed to ensure that no two accounts will be used to allocate funds to the same school," he told the committee.

Despite this, the committee found more reasons for concern.

Some schools still share identifier codes, while others are using TSC registration numbers instead of ones assigned by the Education Ministry.

This confusion has made it difficult to determine the accuracy of the system’s data.

Auditors found that more than 3,480 schools had invalid TSC codes or shared the same registration numbers.

MPs said the Ministry should have its own unique codes for every school to avoid confusion and potential fraud.

PAC wants all schools enrolled into Nemis and assigned proper codes within three months of the report’s adoption. It has instructed Julius Bitok, the current accounting officer, to oversee this process.

The issues go beyond just coding errors.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that the Ministry failed to prove legal ownership of the Nemis platform. No copyright or system registration documents were submitted during the audit.

Officials also failed to provide records showing who developed or maintained the system and what controls were in place.

The review highlighted weak internal structures and raised concerns about data security and the platform’s functionality.

During a recent upgrade, a secondary server was installed, but the government could not provide documentation showing what was changed or improved.

Gathungu said the lack of system documentation means it is unclear whether the Sh239 million spent was worthwhile.

"Value for money may not have been realised in the Sh239 million expenditure on the re-engineering of Nemis," she noted.

Teachers have raised their own complaints, accusing the Education Ministry of interfering with the system.

Their calls for a probe have added momentum to the push for a deeper investigation.

The PAC is also demanding a clear explanation of how problems from the earlier version of Nemis were addressed in the latest version.

Without such evidence, it said, the new system cannot be trusted to serve its purpose.

The concerns come at a time when the government is investing heavily in digital systems across departments.