Last reviewed: 26 October 2026
For a private school, admissions is where marketing turns into income. Families may hear about you from a neighbour, a Facebook post or an open day, but if their enquiry is not answered quickly, if the visit feels disorganised or if the paperwork drags on, they enrol somewhere else. A clear admissions process also protects the school: it keeps learner records accurate for KEMIS, reduces disputes over fees and keeps you on the right side of the law. This guide walks a school owner or admissions officer through the full cycle, from first enquiry to the learner’s first day.
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Know the Legal Ground Rules
Private schools set their own admission policies, but some national rules apply to every basic education institution. Under the Basic Education Act, 2013:
- Proof of age: section 33 says a child’s age is determined by the birth certificate, but no child shall be denied admission for lack of proof of age. If a family has no certificate yet, admit the child and help them follow it up.
- No discrimination: section 34 says a school or person responsible for admission shall not discriminate against any child on grounds including ethnicity, sex, religion, race, social origin, age, disability, language or culture. Single-sex schools may admit only boys or only girls.
- Admission fees: section 32 says no admission fee shall be collected when admitting a child to a public school or a basic education institution. Many private schools charge registration or assessment fees, so take legal advice on how your fees are structured and described.
Every learner must also be registered on KEMIS, the Ministry of Education’s learner database that replaced NEMIS. The system generates each child’s Unique Personal Identifier (UPI). The KEMIS portal’s guidance for institutions says registration on KEMIS is mandatory and that schools must enter the birth certificate’s entry number, not its serial number. Our parents’ guide to KEMIS and the UPI number explains what families need to bring.
Stage 1: Handle Every Enquiry the Same Day
Most families contact several schools at once. The first to reply properly is often the one they visit. Set up:
- One enquiry phone number or WhatsApp line, staffed during working hours.
- A simple enquiry log: date, parent’s name, phone, child’s age and grade, how they heard about you and the next action.
- A short reply template with fees, the next open day and a link to book a visit.
Review the log every Friday. If enquiries are not turning into visits, the problem is usually response time or unclear fees.
Stage 2: Make the Visit Count
A visit is your best sales tool. Show a lesson in progress, the toilets, the kitchen and the play area. Let the parent meet the class teacher. Hand over the fee structure, uniform list and term dates in one printed pack. Record the visit in your log and agree on a follow-up date. Our guide to planning a school open day covers group visits.
Stage 3: Placement Assessment, Used Fairly
Many private schools give a short assessment to place a child in the right grade, especially when a child joins from another curriculum. Keep it about placement and support, not exclusion: use it to identify gaps and plan help. For learners switching from IGCSE or other systems, see our guide to moving between CBC and IGCSE.
Stage 4: Offer, Acceptance and Paperwork
Send a written offer letter stating the grade, start date, fees for the first term, payment deadline and what to bring. Ask for:
- The child’s birth certificate (copy, with the original seen).
- Parent or guardian ID numbers and contact details.
- The previous school’s leaving letter, latest report and the learner’s UPI or assessment number.
- Medical information and any special needs reports.
- Emergency contacts and authorised pick-up persons.
Admission forms collect personal data about children. Section 33 of the Data Protection Act, 2019 says personal data relating to a child may only be processed with the consent of a parent or guardian and in a way that protects the child’s best interests. Include a short consent and privacy notice on the form, collect only what you need, and store files securely. Our guide to data protection for schools covers the details.
Stage 5: Onboarding Before Day One
- Enter the learner on KEMIS and confirm the UPI.
- Create the fee account and send the first invoice with payment instructions.
- Add parents to class communication groups.
- Brief the class teacher on any learning or health needs.
- Call the parent after the first week to ask how the child is settling.
Measure What Matters
Each term, count enquiries, visits, offers and enrolments, and note where each family came from. If 40 enquiries produce 10 visits and 6 enrolments, you know your visit is strong and your enquiry follow-up needs work. Those numbers also tell you which marketing to keep. See how to market a private school in Kenya for channel ideas.
When a Notebook Is No Longer Enough
A notebook or spreadsheet works for a few enquiries a week. Once you have several staff answering phones, it becomes easy to lose a family between the enquiry and the visit. Admissions software keeps every enquiry in one place, reminds staff to follow up and shows which channels bring families who actually enrol.
For private schools serious about filling their next intake, our pick is Anademy Admissions from Ananke Digital; the name Anademy blends Ananke and Academy. It logs every enquiry, reminds staff to follow up and shows which channels bring families who enrol, and each set-up is built around the individual school’s process. Compare it with other options in our guide to the best school admissions software in Kenya, where you can book a demo. More tools for running a school are on the school owners hub.