By KPC Reporter
The Ministry of Education has uncovered widespread enrolment discrepancies in public schools following a nationwide data verification exercise.
The findings raise concerns over the accuracy of enrolment figures used to allocate billions of shillings in government capitation.
In a statement released on Thursday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba announced the findings of the verification exercise, which began on September 1, 2025, and covered all public primary, junior, secondary and special needs education institutions across the 47 counties.
The audit was conducted to authenticate learner enrolment figures captured in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), which forms the basis for funding Free Primary Education, Junior School Education, Free Day Secondary Education and Special Needs Education.
According to the Ministry, accurate enrolment data is a legal and ethical requirement to safeguard public resources and ensure equitable distribution of funds
The report reveals significant variances between enrolment figures recorded in NEMIS and those verified at school level.
Primary schools showed the largest negative variance, with verified enrolment standing at 4.95 million learners against 5.83 million recorded in NEMIS, a difference of 885,904 learners.
Secondary schools recorded a shortfall of 87,730 learners, while junior schools reported a surplus of 543,250 learners compared to NEMIS data
The verification exercise also identified “unauthenticated learner records, including missing or invalid Unique Personal Identifiers, duplicated assessment numbers and mismatched examination centre codes.”
In addition, 27 schools—10 secondary and 17 primary—were found to be non-operational due to insecurity, lack of learners or administrative closure, yet continued to appear in NEMIS and receive funding.
“102 junior schools and 84 primary schools were found to be operating below the stipulated minimum enrolment threshold, while weak oversight at the sub-county level allowed discrepancies to persist without timely correction,” the statement said.
As a result, the Ministry has forwarded the report to the Teachers Service Commission for disciplinary action against 14 heads of institutions who failed to submit data and 20 who submitted inflated enrolment figures.
Administrative action is also being taken against 28 Sub-County Directors of Education and Quality Assurance officers for supervisory lapses. The report has additionally been submitted to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for further action.
To protect public funds, all unverified learners have been suspended from resource allocation until verification is completed, while non-operational schools will be formally closed or deregistered.
The Ministry has also announced that data verification will now be conducted every term and that capacity building for school heads and education officers will be strengthened.
The Ministry plans to accelerate the transition from NEMIS to the more robust Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), which will feature stronger validation controls and real-time reporting.
According to the CS, the measures are aimed at restoring discipline, accountability and public confidence in the education system.