The data of millions of students could be on the wrong hands, with revelations that the ownership of National Education Management and Information System (NEMIS) is unknown.

Questions have emerged over the ownership and control of the reengineered NEMIS, which the Ministry of Education uses to provide accurate student data.

Though the State Department for Basic Education has pumped Sh239.78 million to rejig the platform under the Kenya Primary Education Development (PRIEDE) Project, it was not clear the investment was a good deal for taxpayers, as crucial documents were not provided for audit, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has said in a report for the year ending June 2024.

Ownership documents of the refitted NEMIS, including copyright registration and reservation and signed handover documents were not provided for audit.

Gathungu also noted that documentation relating to the development of the reengineered NEMIS and the structure of its administration, maintenance, compliance and control of the system was not provided for audit.

Cloud server

Current estimates show that there are 10.4 million students in primary school and 3.9 million in secondary.

Reads the report: “In the circumstances, value for money may not have been achieved on expenditure amounting to Sh239,784,833 in respect to reengineering and ownership of the NEMIS.”

The Ministry of Education launched the reengineered NEMIS system in the 2021-22 financial year.

The work included installing a server at a secondary site on an existing government cloud infrastructure.

At the time, the ministry defended the system, saying it would give users more direct access to data.

The system was supposed to ease data retrieval for timely decision-making and facilitate data reliability for all stakeholders.

“The system provides accurate data and becomes more attuned to Ministry of Education end users,” said the minister at the time, the late George Magoha.

The system was also meant to refine existing processes such as capitation management.

He said: “With its upgraded server infrastructure and improved system architecture, the system serves to strengthen the user experience,” he added.

The questions about the ownership of NEMIS arose even as Gathungu raised concerns about the disbursement of capitation for Free Primary Education, Junior Secondary School Education and Free Day Secondary Education, amounting to Sh132 billion.

Of this money, Sh63.9 billion was for Free Day Secondary Education, Sh30.99 billion for Junior Secondary Education, and  Sh9 billion for Free Primary Education.

Although the disbursements are based on student enrolment in NEMIS,  Gathungu said, no documentary evidence was provided for audit to confirm that the data in NEMIS had been verified by sub-county education officers before payouts were made.

The report also says that NEMIS, as configured, does not have a cutoff date, as it updates student data on a continuous basis, making it difficult to confirm the number of students at a specific point in time.

Further, the system does not register students without birth certificates or fund students aged 18 and above.

“In the circumstances, the accuracy and completeness of subsidies and grants and transfers to other government entities amounting to Sh95,290,431,676 and Sh36,852,473,814 respectively could not be confirmed.”