The Ministry of Education is contemplating introducing the use of biometrics in schools.
According to Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Kahi Indimuli, the new way of student identification will monitor their movement.
“The school children will put a finger and log in to show they are present. When they are going home, they log out and the message goes to the parents,” he said.
This will also send all their study progress including their class attendance to parents.
Indimuli was speaking on Friday during the 46th Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Conference in Mombasa.
“I am happy to report that the ministry is now thinking of using biometrics for students in our schools,” Indimuli said.
He said most teachers and parents have raised concerns over the use of National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) numbers and asked the government to look for alternative ways.
He urged the ministry to adopt the data in the biometrics system that is in schools and integrate it into the new system.
“This will enable all of our students to be incorporated into the new system,” Indimuli said.
This comes after Education CS Ezekiel Machogu revealed that for a while, more than 200,000 learners in secondary schools have not been receiving capitation.
He attributed this to students’ details not being adequately captured in the NEMIS.
Machogu said this trend may continue for a while until details of these learners are fully and accurately captured.
