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Roll-out of e-Citizen for school fees payments gets Cabinet approval
President William Ruto chairs a Cabinet meeting at State House, Nairobi
What you need to know:
- Key stakeholders in the education sector, including teachers, had objected to the government's plan to adopt e-Citizen.
- The Cabinet has now approved the rollout of e-citizens for school fee payments in all learning institutions across the country.
The National Government has adopted the usage of e-Citizen in payment for school fees.
The adoption of the programme comes just a day after the High Court extended orders barring the government from compelling schools and other institutions of learning to use the e-Citizen platform to pay fees and other levies.
Key stakeholders in the education sector, including teachers, had objected to the government's plan to adopt e-Citizen.
The government began implementing the pilot project two weeks ago, compelling the 112 national schools across the country to use e-citizen for school fee payment.
However, the Cabinet has now approved the rollout of e-citizens for school fee payments in all learning institutions across the country.
“In keeping with the administration’s digital transformation agenda, Cabinet sanctioned the digitization of the entire education system, spanning from basic education to tertiary and university levels,” President William Ruto said on Wednesday.
Last week, Justice Chacha Mwita had issued an order stopping the implementation of the programme in schools, following a petition by Nakuru surgeon Dr Magare Gikenyi.
“An interim conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the Circular or letter by the Principal Secretary (Belio Kipsang), Ministry of Education dated 31st January 2024, requiring parents/guardians and or students to pay fees and or any other levies for all government learning institutions through e-citizen platform or any other digital platform(s) until 13th February 2024, when the court will issue further directions in this petition,” ruled Justice Mwita.
However, on Wednesday, the Cabinet defended the move saying the intervention aims to address the governance challenges within the education system that have led to parallel accounts and, the charging of unauthorized school fees.
"Others are diversion of the exchequer releases on capitation and other fraudulent activities that undermine the integrity of the education system, leading to the enrollment of ghost students,” the Cabinet said in a dispatch.
Last week, secondary school head teachers said the e-Citizen school fees mode of payment for national schools, was introduced without stakeholder engagement.
“It is going to be a sure way of losing school funds as well as delays thereby disrupting school operations. Reconciliation of money collected in school will be a big challenge,” Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha) National Governing Council said.
Kessha national chairman Mr Willy Kuria, who is also Muranga High School Principal, said they are not fighting e-Citizen but the charges are punitive.
“The charges, the delays, and money not reflecting are some of the things that ought to have been addressed. I have seen money being paid through the platform but as heads of institutions, we cannot access it. How do we buy food?” he wondered.
Mr Kuria said the State ought to have engaged them to know how it would work.
“The way things are, the challenges of e-Citizen as far as accessibility is the main problem,” said Mr Kuria, adding that parents who pay school fees in kind will also be affected.
“The old system cannot be done away 100 per cent because we have parents who pay fees in kind, bursaries from NG-CDF where cheques are brought in the school accounts,” said the Kessha boss.
He refuted claims that school principals have been earning money through the extra charges in schools.
Mr Kuria said schools have not received 50 per cent capitation for this term, adding that they are at the point of bankruptcy.
“If we are to wait for e-Citizen funds like capitation, how will schools operate? I cannot charge any extra coin in Muranga High School without the acceptability of the board or parents. The principal has no such mandate,” said Mr Kuria.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has also expressed reservations about school fees payment through e-Citizen.
Mr Odinga said payment for school fees through e-Citizen would be a conduit for corruption. He has urged Kenyans to reject it.
“Kenyans are struggling to put food on the table and pay school fees and now they have introduced e-Citizen,” said Mr Odinga in Mombasa.
