Students from different secondary schools attend a life skills workshop at Kenya High School, Nairobi. Photo/The Star
By Wanderi Kamau
A nationwide school data verification exercise conducted by the Ministry of Education has uncovered widespread discrepancies in learner enrolment figures, revealing that schools across the country inflated student numbers by up to 430,000.
According to the School Data Verification Report released on Thursday, February 12, by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, the total number of learners recorded in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) stood at 11,616,457.
However, after thorough verification by the Ministry, the number of valid learners was established at 11,186,073, exposing a significant variance in enrolment records.
The report further revealed notable inconsistencies across different education levels.
At the primary school level, NEMIS recorded 5,833,175 learners, but verification established the actual number at 4,947,271, indicating a reduction of 885,904 learners.
Junior schools, however, showed an increase in verified enrolment, rising from 2,430,398 learners in NEMIS to 2,973,648 after verification, while secondary school enrolment declined slightly from 3,352,884 learners recorded in NEMIS to 3,265,154 verified learners.
Read more: STEM dominates Grade 9 senior school placements
The verification exercise covered primary schools, junior schools, and secondary schools across the country, as part of efforts to enhance accountability, protect public resources, and ensure fair allocation of government funding to learning institutions.
The latest revelations come amid long-standing disputes between the government and school administrators over the accuracy of learner data.
The State has been accusing unscrupulous principals of inflating the number of learners in order to fleece the government through higher capitation allocations. However, last year, principals accused the Ministry of Education of inflating learner figures, claiming the discrepancies led to the loss of Sh4 billion in inexplicable circumstances.
Nationwide verification exercise
The Ministry said the nationwide exercise began on September 1, 2025, targeting all public basic education institutions in the 47 counties. The initiative aimed to confirm the accuracy and authenticity of learner enrolment figures used to allocate government capitation under various education programmes, including Free Primary Education, Junior School Education, and Free Day Secondary Education.
In a press statement, the Ministry emphasized that accurate enrolment data is critical because government funding for public education is allocated strictly based on the number of learners registered in NEMIS. The verification process involved reconciling data captured in NEMIS with independently submitted and validated school-level records from heads of institutions and Sub-County Directors of Education.
Read more: Senior School rollout to deepen teacher crisis
Despite achieving significant national coverage, the exercise encountered several challenges, including poor internet connectivity in remote areas, incomplete data submissions from some institutions, and limited technical capacity among school personnel responsible for data management. Additionally, the lack of birth certificates among early grade learners complicated the verification process in primary schools.
The Ministry maintained that the verification exercise was necessary to safeguard public resources, strengthen accountability, and ensure that government capitation is based on credible and verifiable enrolment data across all public learning institutions.
Major discrepancies and anomalies
Beyond the enrolment variances, the Ministry identified several irregularities affecting the integrity of education data.
These included unauthenticated learner records, such as missing or invalid personal identifiers, duplicated assessment numbers, and mismatched examination centre codes, raising concerns about the credibility of school data submitted for funding purposes.
Further, the exercise established that several institutions listed in NEMIS were non-operational. These included 10 secondary schools and 17 primary schools that had ceased operations due to insecurity, relocation of communities, lack of learners, or administrative closure but had not reported their status to the Ministry.
Additionally, 102 junior schools and 84 primary schools were found to be operating below the stipulated minimum enrolment threshold, raising concerns about compliance with education standards and oversight mechanisms.
The report also pointed to weak oversight at the sub-county level, where discrepancies in school data were not promptly reported or corrected, further contributing to inconsistencies in official records.
Government action and accountability measures
In response to the findings, the Ministry announced a raft of measures aimed at strengthening data integrity and enforcing accountability within the education sector.
The report has been forwarded to the Teachers Service Commission for administrative action against 14 heads of institutions who failed to submit data for verification and 20 others accused of submitting inflated enrolment figures.
Administrative action is also being taken against 28 Sub-County Directors of Education and Quality Assurance officers in areas where supervisory lapses and systemic failures were identified. The Ministry further disclosed that the findings would be submitted to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for further action.
Read more: Ministry of Education gazettes fees for Senior Schools
To safeguard public funds, the Ministry has suspended unverified learners from resource allocation, with funding to be restored only after proper verification. Non-operational schools will also face formal closure or deregistration in accordance with existing laws and regulations.
Other measures include conducting data verification on a termly basis, strengthening capacity building for school administrators on data management, and accelerating the transition from NEMIS to the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS), which is expected to introduce stronger validation controls and real-time reporting.
The Ministry maintained that the reforms are necessary to restore discipline, protect public resources, and reinforce public trust in the education system, reiterating its commitment to a fair, accountable, and learner-centred education sector.
About the Author
