The Ministry of Education has said schools will only get funds based on the number of pupils registered on National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) portal starting next term when schools reopen in May.
In a circular dated 10th March the Principal Secretary Education, Julius Jwan, said Ministry will not use the manual enrollment record of learners which has been in place since 2003 because its prone to errors and that schools to ensure learners are captured on Nemis platform by 30th March.
Jwan said the Directorate of Primary Education intends to change the mode of FPE disbursement to Nemis system with effect from April 2021.
This means schools have till tomorrow midnight to ensure learners are captured on Nemis or miss disbursement when Ministry releases funds to schools next term.
The Principal Secretary further warned school heads that they are solely responsible for the data captured on Nemis.
“Headteachers are responsible for any data regarding their school, this minimises chances of human error and any changes and any changes required are made by the headteacher thus ensuring continous update of data,” said Jwan.
This is the second attempt by the Ministry to change mode of funding schools based on Nemis after a similar attempt failed in 2019.
A similar announcement was revoked in 2019 after it was found out many primary schools had not captured learners on Nemis.
The headteachers had said the time frame was too little and that the process of getting birth certificates for the learners was hectic.
However Primary schools are the most affected when it comes to Nemis registration.
Last week the government released Ksh 7.5 billion to secondary schools in preparation for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination which entered its second week today Monday.
The second phase of disbursement will saw the remaining 50 per cent channelled into the school accounts in April.
Cabinet Secretary for Education Professor George Magoha had said that the monies allocated will be used to cater for the logistics of the national exam countrywide.
Magoha also assured personnel who would be involved in the process of their payment on time.
In addition, Magoha noted that centres with more than 400 candidates would be manned by 3 police officers as opposed to the initial two.
Schools known for cheating according to the Education CS will be under strict scrutiny from education officials as candidates are urged to avoid being caught in the vice.
Chairman of Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Prof John Onsati directed security officers manning examination centres to ensure that they cooperate fully to ensure the safety of all candidates and examination material during the period the examination will be underway.
He further called on centre managers to ensure all Covid-19 Health protocols as per Ministry of Health directives are adhered to. These include wearing face masks and enhanced spacing between candidates in the examination room.
The Ministry of Education released Sh14.6 billion to fund secondary schools and another Sh4.6 billion for primary institutions when schools reopened in January.
The school heads had accused the government of withholding huge sums of money, noting it could plunge schools into further crises.
The ministry, however, said the money released was only 25 per cent of the total amount that should be sent to schools during the First Term.
The government’s financing model of free education is spread in a 50:30:20 ratio meaning that half the money is sent during the First Term, 30 per cent in the Second Term and the balance released in Third Term.
The school managers said that the delayed release of the capitation balance by the government was frustrated the purchase of chemicals for practicals and apparatus for science subjects.
Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chair Kahi Indimuli lamented on government delay in releasing school funds.