High Court Suspends Ruto’s eCitizen School Fees Directive
High Court Suspends Ruto’s eCitizen School Fees Directive
High Court Suspends Ruto’s eCitizen School Fees Directive
On Wednesday, the government’s decree mandating that all parents pay school tuition through eCitizen was suspended by the High Court.On February 13, the court imposed a conservatory order stopping the Ministry of Education from carrying out the instruction while it awaited further orders.
“That an interim conservatory order is herby issued suspending the Circular or letter by the Principal Secretary (Belio R 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,” reads a portion of the order.
The ruling by the High Court was made just one day after a Nakuru County doctor filed a motion in court asking for the direction to be revoked.
In his petition, the surgeon who works for the County government of Nakuru termed the initiative as illegal and that it violated the principles of good governance.
According to him, the programme was implemented without adequate public participation further noting that it would greatly inconvenience parents who pay their children’s school fees through non-monetary means.
On Wednesday, President William Ruto while addressing a delegation in Tokyo, Japan defended the decision stating it was geared at ensuring transparency and prudent use of funds for the benefit of learners.
“You may have heard the latest about school fees in Kenya, or money paid by parents for example in boarding schools. We provide resources for learning in all our primary and secondary schools through what parents pay,” Ruto stated.
“We are insisting because we realised there are illegal levies charged by the board of management of schools that go into accounts that nobody knows, we have insisted that all monies charged to Kenyans must be transparent.”
The Ministry of Education sent out a notification on January 31 asking all guardians whose children attend national schools to use the eCitizen platform for payment processing.
Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang directed school principals to submit key finance information to the Office of the Director General, State Department for Basic Education before February 6, 2024
“The Directorate of e-Citizen in partnership with the Information Communication Technology Authority (ICTA), Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy and the National Treasury have been coordinating the onboarding of all government services onto the eCitizen platform to enhance service delivery,” the circular read in part. “As part of compliance with the requirements it is directed that parents/guardians make fee payments for their learners in your institutions through this platform.”
Julius Bitok, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, commented on the issue and said the action will improve accountability in public institutions across the nation.Bitok added that the implementation would happen gradually, starting with national schools before moving on to other institutions.