Questions and answers

Skulink is a web-based school management system for Kenyan schools. It keeps admissions and learner records, CBC and exam assessment, report cards, fees and M-Pesa payments, attendance, timetables, payroll and communication with parents in one place, with separate workspaces for administrators, teachers, support staff and parents.

A school management system keeps a school's records and daily work in one place instead of registers, spreadsheets and paper: learners and admissions, classes and timetables, exams and report cards, fees and receipts, attendance, staff and payroll, and messages to parents. Skulink is a school management system built for Kenya, so it already knows the CBC's performance levels from pre-primary to senior secondary, terms, NEMIS numbers, M-Pesa and SMS to Kenyan phones.

Public and private schools in Kenya: primary, junior school and secondary, day and boarding. Each school sets up its own classes, subjects and grading, so it fits the way the school already works.

The Competency-Based Curriculum is built in, from pre-primary (PP1 and PP2) and primary (Grades 1 to 6) on the four performance levels to junior and senior secondary (Grades 7 to 12) on the eight. A school can also set its own ranges, points and remarks, and each class follows its level's scale.

Yes. Skulink runs on a smartphone, tablet or personal computer. Computers have a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux (skulink.co.ke/download), and phones install it to the home screen like an app. Pages are kept light for low-end phones and patchy networks.

No. Skulink runs on the internet, so there is no server to buy and nothing to install on the school's computers. Teachers and parents can add it to their phone's home screen if they wish.

Yes. Every school starts with a free 30-day trial of the whole system, with no payment needed to begin.

An administrator registers the school at skulink.co.ke/sign-up/school, then adds classes, subjects and learners, invites teachers and staff, and links parents to their children. A setup list on the overview shows what is left to do.

Yes. Import data (in the administrator's menu) brings in 30 kinds of record from Excel or CSV: classes, subjects and facilities; teachers, support staff, learners, parents and alumni; fee structures, balances, payments, income and expenses, and payslips; attendance and past exam marks; boarding, transport, clubs, discipline and sick bay; the library, the store and the calendar. Upload the sheet you already have, from any system: Skulink finds the headings, guesses which column is which for you to correct, and reads tables laid out with a column per grade or per day. Every row is checked before anything is saved, and anything that does not fit is named on its row, ready to fix and upload again. Imported history texts no parent, old fee receipts and stock counts are never counted twice, and imported phone numbers sign nobody in until they are confirmed with a code. With its records imported, a school is up and running within a week.

A price per learner each term, set by the school's size: KES 180 for up to 300 learners, KES 150 for 301–800 learners, KES 120 for over 800 learners. Setup, configuration and training is paid once: KES 50,000 for up to 500 learners, KES 75,000 for 501–1,500 learners, KES 100,000 for over 1,500 learners. Every feature is included in every price, and 16% VAT is already in it. Every school starts with 30 days free. Prices can be discounted depending on your school's size and needs.

From Subscription inside the app: by M-Pesa prompt to Skulink's paybill, by card, M-Pesa or bank transfer on Paystack's secure checkout (Skulink never sees the card or account details), or by bank or paybill payment with proof of payment attached. Skulink emails a numbered invoice before the paid period ends and a receipt after every payment.

The school keeps working for 7 days after its paid period ends. After that, records can still be read, but nothing can be changed or downloaded until the subscription is paid. Nothing is deleted. Skulink emails a reminder a week before the period ends, the invoice on the day it ends, and a notice if the school locks, so none of it comes as a surprise.

Use the Help button on any page to chat with Skulink's support team inside the app, or email support@skulink.co.ke.

Teachers record each learner against the school's CBC strands and sub-strands at the performance levels the school uses. These feed competency report cards that parents can read in the parent portal.

Yes. A school can set its own grades, points, ranges and remarks, and choose which scale each class follows, alongside the built-in CBC performance levels.

The school. Class teachers hand results in as final, the Director of Studies checks them, and parents see them only once they are published. Every change to marks and publication is recorded with who made it.

Yes. Report cards are PDFs on the school's letterhead, with the logo, remarks, positions and signature blocks, ready to print or share.

Yes. A scheme of work is drafted from the school's CBC strands or a pasted outline and laid over the teacher's own timetable periods. Lesson plans are drafted from the scheme, one lesson or a week at a time, and can be sent for review.

Yes. Homework says what learners need to bring, can be printed to take home, and the teacher marks which learners handed it in. Parents see their own children's homework.

Yes. The timetable builder places every lesson from the subjects, teachers and lessons per week, and the exam timetable checks for clashes between classes, rooms and supervisors.

Yes. Parents get an M-Pesa prompt on their phone to pay the school's own paybill or till, and paybill payments made with a learner's admission number are recorded against that learner automatically. The money goes straight to the school, never through Skulink.

Yes. Fee structures with vote heads, invoices, receipts, credit notes and statements are all in KES and printed on the school's letterhead.

Each school lists its own payment methods, including bank accounts. A parent who pays by bank can upload the slip as proof, and the bursar confirms or rejects it.

No. Each school uses its own paybill or till, with its own M-Pesa (Daraja) keys. Only the school's administrator can change them, with a code from an authenticator app, and every change is emailed and texted to all of the school's administrators.

Yes. Payroll covers Kenyan statutory deductions and produces payslips, and staff leave is kept alongside it.

The school records each parent's phone number or email and links them to their children. Parents sign in with that number or email, by a texted code, email or Google, and see only their own children.

Yes. A parent sees all the children the school has linked to them, each with their own results, fees, attendance and homework.

Published results and report cards, attendance, homework, fee balances, receipts and statements, school announcements and messages from teachers, all for their own children only.

Yes. Skulink sends SMS to Kenyan numbers for attendance, fees, results and announcements, as well as app notifications and email. The school's SMS allowance is shown in the app, and each SMS beyond it costs KES 0.40.

Yes. Every school's records are kept apart, and every person sees only what their role allows: a teacher their classes, a parent their own children. Access is enforced on Skulink's servers, not on the phone or computer.

Yes. Staff are given duties such as head teacher, deputy, Director of Studies, bursar, nurse, librarian or security, and the school can change which permissions each duty carries.

Skulink processes school records under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019. The school is the data controller for its learners', parents' and staff's information, and Skulink is the data processor, acting only on the school's instructions. See the privacy policy for details.

Yes. Each school's records can be recovered to any point in the last 30 days, and a copy is taken every night and kept for 90 days.

A password used on a new device is confirmed with a code sent to the account, and the account is emailed about every new device. Administrators can turn on two-step sign-in with an authenticator app, and sessions end after four hours.

Yes. The activity history records what changed and who changed it, for every role, including changes to marks, grades and publication.

The records are the school's. When a school leaves, its account is archived: nobody can sign in, but nothing is deleted. Everything stays for 90 days, and a school that returns in that time picks up where it left off; it can ask for an export at any time before then. After 90 days everything is deleted for good, and only Skulink's record of what the school paid is kept.

Yes. It keeps boarding houses and beds, sick bay visits and medical notes, gate passes and visitors, alongside everything a day school uses.

Yes. Learner records hold NEMIS/KEMIS UPI, birth certificate and KNEC assessment numbers, and can be exported for the national register.

Skulink promotes whole classes at year end, and issues leaving certificates and transfer letters for learners who leave. Leavers are kept as alumni.

Yes. Clubs and games are kept with their members, fixtures and results, and certificates can be printed. Student leadership posts are kept with the history of who held them.