CS OGAMBA OULINES GOVERNMENT’S STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE GHOST SCHOOLS

In a move to eradicate ghost schools, the government has directed all schools to re-register through the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS). Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba announced this during an interview on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, emphasizing the need for a stricter approach to prevent the resurgence of fraudulent institutions. Ogamba disclosed that investigations are underway to identify and shut down ghost schools, but a more robust system is required for long-term solutions. KEMIS, an upgraded version of the previous NEMIS, will now serve as the central platform for registering all legitimate schools and updating their records.

“To tackle the ghost schools issue, all previously registered schools must register under KEMIS to ensure clean and accurate data,” Ogamba stated. “This system will help us verify school locations, student numbers, and teacher counts, providing a credible database.” The CS strongly condemned the operation of ghost schools, labelling it a criminal offense. “There is no government policy supporting this. It is illegal, and we are working with the Auditor General to flag and eliminate such cases permanently,” he asserted. KEMIS initially designed to track staff and student data, will now also require schools to submit institutional details to prevent duplicate entries.

 Additionally, Ogamba clarified that education funds are disbursed directly to verified school bank accounts, not individuals, to curb misappropriation. The crackdown follows revelations that part of the Ksh 1.3 billion school infrastructure fund was diverted to non-existent institutions in an alleged fraud scheme involving ministry officials. Reports indicated that funds meant for improving learning facilities were allocated to fake schools with fabricated enrollment figures and locations.

 Ogamba also addressed student concerns regarding HELB and the recent reduction in university fees, which have been slashed by 15% to 30% to ease financial pressure on parents and guardians. The mandatory re-registration aims to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficient resource allocation in Kenya’s education sector.