Apathy as deadline on birth certificates looms

The ongoing countrywide mass registration of students has been hit by lack of enthusiasm from parents with only five days to go before the deadline.

The slow response is being blamed on poor Internet connectivity in many places and delays in getting birth certificates.

However, Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said on Tuesday that he was optimistic the project was on course despite the hitches although only about six million out of the targeted 12 million learners have been enrolled since the registration started in February.

“Let’s get the data first and see what the progress is,” Dr Kispang said.

STUDENTS REGISTERED

The ministry hopes to have all the students registered under the National Education Information Management System (NEMIS).  Also to be enlisted together with the learners are the teachers and non-teaching staff — all who will be issued with a Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) number by the March 31 deadline.

Head teachers in areas with poor Internet connectivity have been flocking to cybercafés to upload the data, while thousands of parents have been visiting Registrar of Persons’ offices  looking for birth certificates.

The Education ministry has directed its officers to move around schools to support the programme although teachers have been complaining that the registration is long and laborious. 

“The information that the ministry is seeking is too much and it requires a lot of time to upload, especially in schools that have many students,” said a teacher in Nairobi, who has been involved in the campaign.

Kenya Secondary School Heads Association chairman Kahi Indimuli said headteachers were facing challenges in uploading the data due to poor Internet coverage.

“Parents are rushing at the last minute but we hope we will get more time so that we can complete the exercise without undue pressure.”

Some teachers have dismissed the plan to issue them with an UPI, saying they are already registered with the Teachers Service Commission.

SHORTAGE OF STAFF

In Kisii County, at least 80,000 birth certificates have been processed and issued in the last one month.

Ms Teresa Ong’ au from Tabaka, South Mugirango, said she had spent three weeks looking for her child’s certificate.

County registrar Matthew Khayota said the delay in processing the documents had been compounded by a shortage of staff.

Last week, two people were injured in a stampede as they queued for the certificates outside his office.

Narok County registrar of births and deaths Juma Masinde said 55,000 parents had applied for the certificates but only half had been successful. He said 30,000 certificates were yet to be printed and issued to the applicants in Narok South, West, North, and East sub-counties.

In Transmara West and East, the officer in charge, Mr Robert Korrir, said parents would have to wait longer for the documents.

700 APPLICATIONS

“We have processed 13,000 certificates so far, and we have about 35,000 to go. We receive close to 700 applications per day,” said Mr Korrir by telephone, blaming the delays on staff shortage and inadequate supply of materials.

An employee in the Nakuru Registrar of Persons’ office said they were rushing to clear a backlog of about 20,000 applications before the deadline. 
Nyandarua County commissioner Boaz Cheruitich said they were grappling with a huge backlog that could not be cleared by March 31.

An official in Laikipia County said they were receiving more than 500 applications per day and were expecting longer queues as the deadline approaches. In Nyahururu, con men have taken advantage of the rush and confusion to swindle desperate parents out of cash.

 Reports by Ouma Wanzala, George Sayagie , Magati Obebo, Steve Njuguna, Waikwa Maina  and Macharia Mwangi