School management systems in Kenya: your questions answered

Shulepoa is a school management system built specifically for Kenyan schools. It runs fees and M-Pesa payments, CBC and 8‑4‑4 exams and report cards, biometric attendance, parent SMS, payroll with PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and housing levy, timetables, boarding, transport and the library in one system, on the web and on Android. When you compare systems, check that one product covers all of these, works on a phone, and is set up and supported locally. Shulepoa does all three.

Shulepoa is a Kenyan school software company that sets up, trains and supports schools on one complete system: the Shulepoa portal for fees, exams and administration, the Shulepoa attendance system for fingerprint clock-in, parent SMS and an Android app. A good provider should import your existing learner records, configure your fee structures and grading, train your staff and stay reachable after go-live. That is how Shulepoa works with every school.

For CBC, choose a system that records competency-based assessments by learning area and strand, uses the four CBC performance levels (Exceeding, Meeting, Approaching and Below Expectation), and prints CBC report cards for Pre-primary, Primary, Junior School and Senior School. Shulepoa does this and keeps 8‑4‑4 grading alongside it for schools still running both curricula.

Shulepoa suits primary schools from PP1 to Grade 6: CBC assessments and report cards, fee collection through M-Pesa, daily attendance, SMS to parents and a simple Android app for teachers. Parents receive results and fee balances by SMS on any phone, so no smartphone is needed.

Junior School (Grades 7 to 9) needs CBC assessment per learning area, school-based assessment records, streams, timetables for more subjects and teachers, and clear report cards. Shulepoa handles all of these, whether the Junior School sits in a primary school or in a comprehensive school, alongside fees, attendance and parent SMS.

For secondary and high schools, Shulepoa covers 8‑4‑4 exams with mean grades, ranking and merit lists, CBC Senior School, timetables generated without clashes, boarding with boarders counted from reporting day to closing day, fingerprint attendance, fees with M-Pesa, payroll, the library and parent SMS, in one system that works on the web and on Android.

Shulepoa (Shule Poa, Swahili for "a great school") is a school management system and ERP for Kenyan schools. It brings fees, M-Pesa, exams, CBC report cards, attendance, payroll, timetables, boarding, transport, the library and parent communication into one system on the web and Android.

Both. Shulepoa is built for public and private schools, day and boarding schools, and primary, Junior School and secondary schools, including schools that run several levels on one campus.

Shulepoa Attendance uses ZKTeco fingerprint terminals at the gate or in classrooms for learners and staff. Clock-ins show on the portal live, parents can get an SMS when their child checks in, and staff can also check in by phone location on the Android app. Reports show who is present, late or absent for any day, class or term.

Shulepoa works with ZKTeco fingerprint terminals, including cloud-connected models that send punches over any internet connection.

Yes. Staff can check in by location on the Shulepoa Android app, by tapping or automatically when they arrive at school.

Boarders count as present from the reporting day to the closing day of the term, while day scholars are marked each day.

The best school SMS system is the one connected to your school records, so messages go to the right parent automatically. Shulepoa sends fee balances, fee reminders, exam results, report cards, attendance alerts and announcements by SMS from the same system that holds the fees and marks, using wording templates the school controls.

No. Fee balances, results and alerts reach parents by SMS on any mobile phone. Parents with a smartphone can also use the parent portal or the Android app to see statements and report cards.

Yes. Each message is filled in with the parent's own child's name and current balance.

Yes. Parents and learners can open report cards and fee statements on the portal or the Android app.

Yes. Parents pay to the school's M-Pesa paybill using the learner's admission number. Shulepoa matches each payment to the right learner, issues the receipt, updates the fee balance and can send the parent an SMS confirmation. Overpayments can be split across learners or carried forward.

Yes. The bursar can split one payment across siblings, and overpayments can be carried forward.

Yes. Shulepoa payroll works out PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and the Affordable Housing Levy for each staff member, produces payslips and lets the school approve a whole payroll in one step.

Shulepoa includes KRA eTIMS support for the school's electronic tax invoicing.

Yes. Each class can follow CBC or 8‑4‑4, so a school running both curricula keeps one system: CBC performance levels and report cards for CBC classes, and marks, grades, mean grades and merit lists for 8‑4‑4 classes.

Yes. Teachers enter marks and CBC assessments on the Android app or in a phone browser.

Yes. Shulepoa ranks learners, produces merit lists by class and stream, and prints exam cards.

Yes. The timetable generator places every lesson for every class and teacher without clashes, including double lessons.

Book a demo, then Shulepoa imports your learners from Excel, CSV or Word files, sets up classes, streams, subjects, fee structures and grading, connects your M-Pesa paybill and fingerprint terminals, and trains your staff. Teachers and parents then sign in on the web or the Android app.

Pricing depends on the number of learners and the modules your school needs. Contact Shulepoa for a quote and a free demo using your own school's setup.

Staff, parents and learners log in at portal.shulepoa.co.ke with the details their school gave them. The fingerprint attendance system has its own login at attedance.shulepoa.co.ke. If you forget your password, use "Forgot password" on the login page or ask your school administrator.

Yes. The Shulepoa Android app gives teachers, the office and parents the same system on a phone: marks entry, attendance, fee payments and statements, messages and PDFs such as report cards and receipts. It can be downloaded from the portal.

Shulepoa is a light, cloud-based system that loads well on mobile data. Fingerprint terminals keep their punches and send them when the connection returns, and SMS reaches parents even when they are offline.

Every school's data is kept separate and is only reached over encrypted HTTPS. Staff see only what their role allows, two-step sign-in protects accounts, and an audit log records who changed what.