Parents and the children joining Form One may get a rude shock tomorrow if the admission letters they will present to schools were not verified from the Ministry website.
It has also emerged that some secondary schools have defied the fees guidelines released by Ministry of Education and will slap parents with additional levies when students join schools tomorrow.
Sunday Standard has also established that the government has not sent capitation money to schools to start off the upkeep of the new students.
Reporting dates for all Form One students in all categories of schools is January 13, 2020. The last reporting date is January 17, 2020.
Parents will also be shocked to know that they face arrest if they fail to take their children to schools as the ministry moves to implement the 100 per cent transition drive. Spot checks in selected high schools across the country reveal that the harsh economic times have pushed some of them to devise clandestine ways of charging additional levies.
The immediate shock for parents and students however will be the looming rejection of students if the letters were not generated from the National Education Information Management System (Nemis) portal.
A circular released by Basic Education PS Belio Kipsang has directed principals of both public and private schools to strictly carry out admissions of learners through Nemis, using candidates’ index numbers. “On reporting, the school will be expected to key in the index numbers of the candidates and verify the correct details of the learners for admission,” Kipsang wrote in a circular released last week.
Admitting school
Kipsang directed that upon downloading the letters of admission from the ministry website, they will further be verified by the Principal of the admitting school. “Principals are advised to confirm that letters presented to them belong to learners strictly in their selection list. Schools can access their selection lists from the Nemis platform.”
This means parents who were irregularly given admission letters from schools may be turned away if the letters were not generated from Nemis. Sources at the ministry say that some schools issued admission letters to parents even without due approvals through Nemis.
New admission rules require that for a transfer to be effected, the school must declare availability of the vacancy after which parents request is uploaded on Nemis. The request is approved by ministry and details uploaded on Nemis and admission letters printed from the portal. In the circular, Kipsang said that all the schools have now been uploaded in Nemis and asked all parents to verify details.
Details of Sub-county schools, private schools and some other institutions under the various categories were previously not on the Nemis. “…but now they are. Candidates whose change of placement was accepted should go online and click on transfer link in the ministry’s online services for new letters of admission,” Kipsang said. Students and parents will be confronted by fresh fees hikes as it emerged that some schools have defied Ministry directives.
The government already increased capitation per child to Sh22, 244, per child per year in all secondary schools. The amount caters for full fee in day schools, with boarding schools only allowed to charge between Sh40,000 and Sh53,000.
However, a report compiled by the National Parents Association chairman Nicholas Maiyo shows that certain schools still charge additional levies.
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