The progress of university students will be tracked using a data management information system.
Members of Parliament have recommended a system that will also monitor how funds are used in the institutions.
The system will help in identifying students in the school system and those who either deferred or were discontinued.
The Universities Funding Board has been mandated to provide a report on the progress of the system in three months.
“UFB establishes and implements the university education data management information system to promote accountability and improve management of disbursed funds,” the report reads.
While submitting the budget policy statement to the National Assembly Education committee, UFB CEO Geoffrey Monari said the system will enable the government to properly fund institutions.
“We want to give proper figures on the kind of funding the government is giving each public university,” Monari said.
Apart from funding for primary and secondary school learners, Monari disclosed that the government also disburses capitation for university students.
“Many people don’t even know that government gives a grant of an average of 156,000 per student every year so this will also help in planning, and enable us to give statistics as required,” he added.
The lawmakers also urged the higher education sub-sector to ensure the information is linked with National Education Management Information Systems.
Nemis is a web-based data management system that collects data and information from institutions that helps in the effective management of schools.
The online platform monitors the performance of teachers and learners to ensure education resources are utilised efficiently.
The government will also be able to identify areas with low absorption of students to the university and intervene.
“Nemis will be the backbone of this system and also statistics can help the country to plan and see what interventions the country can implement to ensure students are admitted to the university,” he added.
As soon as UFB implements this system, students who stay in school for more than the prescribed period will be kicked out.
This includes students who keep deferring and deregistered from the school system due to various reasons.
For instance, a student pursuing a degree course will not be in school for more than four years, unless there is a valid reason.
The University of Nairobi was the first institution that dealt with overstayed students.
In 2021, the management targeted at least 32,000 students who continued being in school more than the required time.
The students were de-registered from the school system and their courses were terminated.
Other universities promised to use internal measures to wipe out the overstayed students.
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