Kenya to harmonize education sector data through Maisha Namba ID integration

Kenya will begin a pilot in July for a new system that will streamline education sector data management by integrating it with the country’s national digital ID system.

The new system dubbed Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS) will substitute the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) which has been in place for many years, The Kenya Times reports.

KEMIS will streamline the management of education data from elementary school to university-level education, shifting from the old system where education data was held in separate databases.

Among the reasons for the integration, the government says it will help strengthen the adoption of the Unique Personal Identifier (UPI), ensure data accuracy and efficiency, establish a consolidated system of one’s educational records across all levels, facilitate access to academic services including via mobile application, ensure inclusivity and security for access to education sector services, and to further align the country with its national digital transformation vision which seeks to have all personal transactions across sectors linked to a single identifier.

The Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Prof Julius Bitok, is quoted as saying that with the new integrated system which is set to fully go live by September, “data-driven decision making” will become “the cornerstone of education planning and service delivery in Kenya.”

He added that “by consolidating all learner data, from ECDE [Early Childhood Development and Education] to higher education, into one platform, the system will enhance accuracy, transparency, and accessibility.”

The education data integration will ensure that “the government has the right statistics on every school to inform the distribution of teachers, capitation, books and other resources.”

Apart from integration with the Maisha Namba digital ID, KEMIS will also be integrated with the birth and death registration system, according to Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary, Dr Belio Kipsang. He noted that following the integration, the UPI will be issued to every child, and subsequently used by KEMIS as part of efforts to keep accurate data, even at the time of death.

Kenyan lawmakers, namely from the parliamentary Committee on Education, are said to be in support of the new system, pledging to throw their weight behind it should it require any legislative deliberation.

ID verification for social media use

In a related ID story, Kenya is following the global age assurance trend where governments are moving towards ensuring age verification for access to certain harmful or age-restricted products and services.

As Citizen Digital reports, a draft legislation which requires age verification via the national ID card for access to some social media platforms in Kenya, is currently in the country’s parliament.

The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2025, if eventually approved, will require age verification measures for access to social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram in the country.

Kenya’s national ID system was spoken about at ID4Africa 2025 with the Secretary of the National Registration Bureau, Christopher Wanjau, sharing how the country’s ID authority generates income to stay afloat.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  identity verification  |  Kenya  |  Maisha Namba  |  national ID  |  schools