Gov't to appeal ruling barring payment of school fees on eCitizen

The government has announced plans to appeal the High Court ruling that declared unconstitutional, a directive requiring parents to pay school fees through the eCitizen platform.

Speaking on Wednesday, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok said the Ministry of Education is liaising with the Attorney General’s office to appeal the decision formally.

PS Bitok defended the directive to channel fees through eCitizen as a move to protect parents and guardians from exploitation by school heads and promote transparency in schools’ accounts.

“We will obey the courts. But we are going to appeal the decision because eCitzen is a platform that is very transparent," said Bitok.

"The reason why the government decided to go in that direction was to make payments by parents and stakeholders as transparent as possible so that everybody can see what is being paid," he added.

In January 2024, then Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, via a circular directed all payments of school fees to be done on the eCitizen platform. 

Justice Chacha Mwita, delivering a ruling on Tuesday, prohibited the government from enforcing the directive, stating that there was no public participation before its implementation. He also noted that the Ksh.50 convenience fee imposed on transactions has no legal basis.  

However, according to PS Bitok, by insisting on eCitizen payments, the government hoped to tame the indiscipline of rogue principals and management boards who defied its guidelines on recommended annual fees in public schools.

“We’ve had a problem for a long time. Sometimes, the government sets fees and some stakeholders increase the fees without consulting it. We are trying to make it as open and transparent as possible for everyone to see how the money goes,” said Bitok.

He was speaking at Kwa Njenga Primary School in Nairobi after officially receiving eight classrooms and three ablution blocks built by the United States Department of Defence.

U.S. Ambassador Marc Dillard handed over the Ksh84 million project, which also includes a perimeter fence and the grading and drainage in the school, which draws its 2,228 pupils from the nearby informal settlements.