Students who secured Form One admission through backdoor to miss out on government funding.

A file photo of students joining Form One. PHOTO COURTESY.

The Ministry of Education has warned that they will not recognize any direct admission of Form One students to secondary schools by school principles outside the National Education Management Information System (Nemis).

In a circular, the ministry said no schools (except sub-county and private institutions) are allowed to issue a letter of admission outside this system, adding that that students whose details will not be captured in Nemis will be deemed not to have joined secondary schools.

“Schools must admit students only through Nemis. Any school that may have offered admission to students outside the NEMIS should urgently recall those joining instructions. An Audit will be undertaken at the end of the admission process on the same,” ordered Education PS Belio Kipsang in the statement.

He noted that the letters which will not have been downloaded from the ministry's website will be viewed as illegal documents and will not be used to admit Form One students to secondary schools.

He said once students report to the schools, principals will be required to send the details to the ministry for confirmation.

“Only letters that have been downloaded from the admissions website are valid,” said Dr Kipsang. Ms Mohammed instructed regional, county and sub-county education officers to take action against any national, extra-county or county school that will violate the directive.

Parents seeking placements have also been warned against paying school fees beforehand with the Ministry terming this as illegal and punishable by law.

“Actions will be taken against School Boards that will be found to condone such practice,” PS Kipsang added.

Field officers were also told to ensure 100% transition of pupils from primary to secondary school.

Slightly over 1 million children sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams in November last year.

Reports indicate that only 31,337 pupils will be admitted to national schools.