Online government services boost Kenyan internet usage

NAIROBI, JAN 22 — About three weeks ago, 53-year-old Bernard Musimba, a resident of Busia in western Kenya, used the internet for the first time, and he cannot stop talking about it.
His son had sat for Class Eight exit exams in 2018 and had performed well, therefore, as all parents in Kenya, to know which secondary school the student had been admitted to, Musimba had to go online and log into the ministry of education system.
From the site, dubbed National Education Management Information System (Nemis), one would then key in details of the pupils to know which school they have been admitted to and then download the admission letter.
“I had never used a computer before but I was forced to by the admission process. It was exciting that my son’s name was in there and I got the letter with the help of the cybercafe attendant and now he is already in school,” said Musimba on Tuesday.
His experience mirrors that of many other parents across the east African nation, who for the first time, had to use the internet to get secondary school admission letters for their children as the Kenya government turns to technology to fast-track its processes and take them to masses.
About a million pupils sat for the exams in 2018, according to the ministry of education, therefore the process involved thousands of parents.
The move by the government to take its services online has come as a huge boost to internet usage in the east African nation as millions of citizens, especially those outside towns, use computers and go online for the first time.
Some of the government services that are currently being done exclusively online in addition to the admission of students are application for driving license, passport and personal identification number used for tax payment purposes.
Student’s higher education loans, national health insurance, filing of tax returns and payments and renewal of driving licenses are all done via the internet and mobile money.
The Kenya Police is also working to automate its services including access to P3 forms filed by victims of assault or sexual abuse for medical examination and police abstracts, according to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.These are documents that one had to physically walk to a police station to access them.
“I got my driving license after registering my details online on e-citizen and on the National Transport Authority websites and then paid the required fee via mobile money,” said public bus driver Antony Kimani, who also opened an email account for the first time during the application.
Internet subscription posted a 2.7 percent growth between July and September 2018 to stand at 41.8 million from 40.7 million during the previous quarter, latest data from the Communication Authority shows.
The number of internet users, therefore, is about 50 million people as more people in rural areas turn to the service.
“Use of online system to access government service has definitely become a huge boost to internet usage especially in rural areas. It is one of the best things to be happening in Kenya as we fight corruption and seek to enhance efficiency and transparent in government service provision,” said Bernard Mwaso, a consultant with Edell IT Solutions in Nairobi.
Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed noted that the ministry adopted the online system to streamline the secondary school admission process and curb fraud.
“The online admission system helps us create a complete database for all students, which will be used in the allocation of grants from the government under the subsidized learning program and registration for medical insurance,” she said.
Further, through the Nemis system, which was used this year for the first time, the government would also be able to have clear data on transition rates from primary to secondary school and further to colleges. – XINHUA