Kenyan parents turn to internet in search of best schools

NAIROBI, KENYA: Private schools have unveiled an online information and marketing platform dubbed Somanet that links parents, students and pupils to a system where they can easily locate and make applications to the schools of their choice.

The idea seeks to ease the pain and rush most parents experience after national exam results are announced.

The platform works in a way that all members of Kenya Private School Association (KPSA) members' deposit information about their school and make available functional contacts.

Performance history and fee structure are also uploaded for parents to access and make decisions through online application.

Any request or application made get instant response through the email address provided or via the text messages.

"This platform enables schools to upload information about their institution. The information is intended to be relevant to the public accessible through the use of the mobile phone. It can be deemed as the information parents are always looking for when selecting a school for their children,'' said George Thuo who is the Somanet systems implementation manager

He said the platform is expected to be a linkage to all the private schools stakeholders.

The Platform has been developed by Kensoft Business Systems on behalf of KPSA.

''Currently, the platform is designed for the Kindergartens, private primary schools, secondary schools and teacher training colleges. The system seeks to provide high quality mobile and web services to private schools in Kenya to help resolve emerging operational challenges,'' said Thuo

He said the idea of coming up with the concept is inspired by the need to look at the education sector as an industry with much potential that can help accelerate the growth of education in the country.

Currently, most parents rely on referrals to get the right schools for their children where parents have limited choice and more so likely to act on misinformation.

Currently, Somanet has nearly 10,000 private institutions which have already signed up.

''The good thing about this platform is that it is customized in a way that when you send an inquiry you get instant response  since we have already  data from Kenya Private School Association  which we have synchronized  under Somanet platform,'' says Thuo

The schools can sign up as a single institution or a group with different packages such as Bronze, Gold, Silver and Platinum.

Going forward, KPSA says it intends to unveil a teacher's portal where their members can upload their resume and scout for employment opportunities.