Lack of birth certificates denies pupils State funds
By KNA, February 5, 2024
Cases of school children who lack birth certificates are on the rise, affecting issuance of Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) number, that the government solely recognises in offering education funding.
Pokot South Sub-County Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) David Boen is now calling on parents, to ensure their children are duly registered and issued with a birth certificate.
Speaking during a public participation forum at Sekution village in Pokot South Constituency, Boen underscored the importance of a birth certificate in government functions, particularly during the process of enrolling children in school.
He said registration of children helps in planning for schools’ capitation by the government.
The DCC explained that in the event of a low number of learners registered with the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), the government’s allocation of funds for educational support, specifically in terms of capitation fee, is also reduced.
“We request residents of Moreso from Sekution location, which is far away from government offices, to come and process birth certificates for their children,’’ said Boen.
And in order to support the community in obtaining birth certificates for their children, the DCC proposed coordination with the registration office, on how to take the registration services closer to the community.
A quarter
Salina Cheptoo, the headteacher of Sondany Primary School, expressed concern regarding the challenges they face in obtaining funds from the government.
‘‘The challenges mainly arises due to lack of birth certificates among learners, which is a mandatory requirement for NEMIS registration and subsequent release of funds,’’ she said.
Cheptoo said that there were only a few learners in her school who have birth certificates.
“Around a quarter of the students’ population does not possess birth certificates,’’ Cheptoo said.
She said the biggest challenge the school faces is reduction in capitation fee, owing to the small number of children who have been captured by NEMIS.