Parents and Form One students wait for admission at Nyabururu Girls High School early this month. [File, Standard]

Parents whose children have yet to take up Form One slots risk prosecution for disobeying a directive by the Government.

Mr Paul Kibet, a director for secondary education who also oversees the newly introduced National Education Management Information System (Nemis), said the Government aimed to achieve 100 per cent primary-to-secondary school transition in the country.

He pointed out that starting this week, action would be taken against parents still keeping their children at home.

Speaking at the weekend in Elgeyo Marakwet County during a thanksgiving ceremony at Metkei Girls Secondary School, Mr Kibet said parents had a responsibility to ensure that all children got access to education.

“An executive order will be given this week to all chiefs and their assistants to arrest those who will disobey the directive,” said Kibet.

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“We mean all students who sat their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education irrespective of the marks they attained, because they have an opportunity to join Form One and pursue their dreams.”

He also told parents to ensure they registered the births of their children and got certificates, a crucial document in collecting data of students in schools.

Kibet said Nemis was keen on establishing the total number of students in schools.

“Those who do not have a birth certificate are creating problems for their children because it is the same information that is entered in the Nemis system and ideal data collection along with giving the Government a chance to disburse accurate capitation.”

The sentiments come in the wake of the Government’s concern that close to 300,000 students had yet to join secondary schools and are likely to miss capitation because they have not been registered.

The State has released Sh28 billion for Free Day Secondary Education.

There has been an outcry in schools over delay in disbursing the money meant for infrastructure development, prompting principals to set up temporary structures to accommodate Form One students.