KSSSA bank on NEMIS to root out mercenaries in School Games

KSSSA Secretary-General for the Coast region McDonald Udzile says some age cheating and impersonation incidents have been flagged at the ongoing National Term One Games in Mombasa through the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS).

Udzile says schools will be required to enter the student’s Unique Personal Identifier (UPI) onto a special team list alongside other details, thus making it difficult to field mercenaries as details of the presented players can be easily retrieved from NEMIS including the learner’s photograph.

“KSSSA has a system in place that integrates KNEC, the registration portal, and NEMIS to ensure that only legitimate students take part in the games. I'm confident that starting next term, only verified students will be allowed to participate.”

Udzile revealed that defending champions Dr. Aggrey were notably affected by this new system, as four key players were disqualified, weakening their performance in the ongoing competition.

"Dr. Aggrey, the defending champions, underwent a shake-up, and only 6 out of the 12 players who met the threshold are eligible to participate. However, I'm confident they will overcome this setback and return to their winning form."

On his part, Wilson Okong'o, an official from Brookside, the sole sponsor of the event, expressed their satisfaction with the level of competition demonstrated by all the teams.

"As Brookside, our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to nurture their talents across all fields, and today’s event showcased this vision. We are committed to offering an equal platform for all students to compete."

He further emphasized that they would continue to work closely with the government to nurture and develop student talents.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with the government in nurturing talent. By engaging in healthy sports, our youth have the opportunity to develop strength and become productive members of society in the future."

These developments come as various teams have already secured spot in semi-finals after winning their second group matches.