The High Court of Kenya has extended the temporary order which halted government’s directive for parents to pay their children’s school fees through the eCitizen platform.
In a February 13, 2024, statement, Milimani Law Courts Judge Chacha Mwita extended the ban to April 2024 when the petition filed against the government will be heard.
“Interim orders granted on February 7, 2024 are thereby extended to 17th April 2024 because I did not see any prejudice pre suffered by the respondent,” said the judge during a virtual address.
The judge also ruled that Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) be involved in the case.
Judge Mwita had issued the order on February 7 following a petition filed by Nakuru doctor Magare Gikenyi.
“An interim conservatory order is hereby 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,” ruled the judge.
Gikenyi Petition
Dr Gikenyi had filed the petition following the circular which issued fresh directives to parents and guardians of learners in national schools.
It was part of the government’s agenda in ensuring a swift transition to the new fee payment process.
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“The directorate of e-citizen in partnership with 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 e- citizen platform to enhance service delivery,” read part of the letter.
Additionally, the Office of the President in a press statement dated February 5, 2024, clarified the widespread implementation of this new process across all categories of schools.
According to the government, the initial phase of this transition focuses on national schools, setting the stage for a systematic and transparent approach to fee collection.
The statement further explained that objective of this directive is to streamline fee collection, fostering better coordination while promoting transparency and accountability.
Furthermore, the government aims to establish an effective monitoring system to ensure compliance with policies and regulations governing fee levying and payment in public secondary schools.
Permanent Secretary Julius Bitok revealed that the Directorate of E-Citizen has designed a payment collection process that prioritizes convenience and transparency.
In preparation of the launch, all National School principals were directed to ensure that all parents from their institutions provide their bank accounts details in a listed format.
“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,” the letter added.
Ruto on eCitizen Payments
President William Ruto also insisted that the implementation of the eCitizen school fees payment system will be implemented and will be beneficial to Kenya.
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While speaking in Japan on February 13, Ruto noted that his administration was implementing the online payment system to do away with cases where managements of different institutions pocketed money paid for services.
Further, he said that the goal of the new payment system was to do away completely with cash transactions and ensure transparency in the transfer of funds for government services.
“You may have heard the latest about school fees in Kenya and some of the monies paid by parents for example in boarding schools,” he stated.
“We are insisting because we realized that there are illegal levies charged by management of schools that go into accounts whose owners nobody knows. We have insisted that all monies charged to Kenyans must be transparent,” Ruto said.
