2.15 million primary school learners missing from KEMIS records

More than two million primary school learners are yet to be captured in Kenya's education database, raising concerns about how accurately the government is tracking enrolment and allocating resources to schools.

Figures presented by the Ministry of Education during the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association (KECSHA) annual conference in Mombasa show that the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) had recorded approximately 5.05 million primary school learners against an expected population of 7.2 million.

The difference represents an estimated 2.15 million learners whose details are not reflected in the system.

The figures were based on KEMIS records as at November 10, 2026.

A significant gap in primary school records

Mujumba Obwoyere, a senior education official overseeing the KEMIS rollout, said the ministry had already registered learning institutions but discovered that some schools had no learners recorded against them.

The figures show that primary school enrolment is the ministry's biggest concern.

Senior schools had registered approximately 3.26 million learners against an expected 3.5 million, while junior schools had recorded about 3.18 million.

The ministry is investigating the reasons behind the primary school discrepancy.

It has not established how much of the gap comes from incomplete submissions, technical difficulties, delayed registration or differences between projected and actual enrolment.

The figures do not establish that 2.15 million children are out of school.

They show that their details have not been captured in the government's current digital records.

The significance of KEMIS records

KEMIS is a national education data platform developed to replace the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).

It is intended to consolidate information from early childhood education, primary and secondary schools, TVET institutions and universities.

The system captures information on learners, teachers and institutions, creating a central database for education planning and administration.

Accurate learner records are particularly important because the government uses enrolment information to guide the distribution of teachers, textbooks, infrastructure and school funding.

Under the primary-school capitation framework, funding allocations are calculated using learner enrolment data held in the ministry's information system.

A school whose learners have not been properly entered risks receiving less funding than its actual population requires.

Nelson Sifuna, the ministry official overseeing field coordination and co-curricular activities, warned school heads that learners who are not captured in KEMIS will not be included in the funding calculations.

What schools are being asked to do

The ministry is urging headteachers to work with education officials and ICT officers to ensure that every learner is registered.

It has encouraged school heads to organise clusters to help institutions complete the exercise and resolve difficulties encountered during data entry.

The government has also relaxed one of the documentation requirements that previously slowed registration.

According to Director of Primary Education Stephen Barongo, schools can now enter the details of children who lack birth certificates using their parents' national identification details.

This is intended to prevent children from being left out of the education database simply because their birth documentation is incomplete.

The risk of inaccurate education planning

The gap comes as Kenya implements Competency-Based Education and works to improve the distribution of teachers and learning resources.

Without reliable enrolment figures, the ministry risks underestimating the needs of schools with growing populations.

Planning for classrooms, sanitation facilities, teachers and textbooks becomes more difficult when the official records do not reflect the actual number of learners.

At the same time, accurate registration helps prevent inflated school populations and payments for learners who cannot be verified.

The immediate task is to establish why the records are incomplete and bring eligible learners onto the platform.

For school heads, completing KEMIS registration is now directly linked to ensuring that the learners in their classrooms are recognised in government funding and planning.