Education Ministry to appeal decision that overturned directive on e-Citizen fees payment

The government plans to challenge the High Court’s decision that deemed the payment of school fees through the eCitizen platform illegal.

Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok acknowledged the ruling by Justice Chacha Mwita but confirmed that the Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Attorney General’s office, will file an appeal.

“We will comply with the court’s decision, but we intend to appeal because eCitizen is a very transparent platform. The government’s goal was to ensure that all payments made by parents and stakeholders are clear and accountable,” he stated.

On Tuesday, the government faced a setback when the High Court ruled that the directive was unconstitutional.

This ruling was a relief for parents who traditionally paid fees in kind, such as with sacks of maize, beans, or firewood, but were excluded from the digital payment system.

The National Parents Association opposed the eCitizen requirement, arguing that many parents who struggle to gather cash for fees rely on payments in kind and warned that a digital-only system would disadvantage them.

Bitok defended the eCitizen initiative, explaining that it was implemented to protect parents and guardians from exploitation by school administrators and to improve transparency in school financial management.

He made these comments at Kwa Njenga Primary School in Nairobi, where he officially received eight new classrooms and three sanitation blocks built by the United States Department of Defense.

U.S. Ambassador Marc Dillard presented the Sh84 million project, which also includes a perimeter fence and enhancements to grading and drainage systems at the school, which serves 2,228 students from nearby informal settlements.

The PS stressed that the eCitizen payment system was designed to address the long-standing issue of some school heads and management boards arbitrarily raising fees above the government’s recommended rates.

“We have dealt with this issue for a long time. The government sets fees, but some stakeholders increase them unilaterally without consultation. Our aim is to make fee payments transparent and accessible for everyone,” Bitok remarked.

On Wednesday, some education stakeholders welcomed the court’s ruling.

National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa described the eCitizen directive as well-intentioned but criticized the Ministry of Education for not engaging the public prior to its implementation.

Obuhatsa also pointed out the platform’s inflexibility, stating that it does not accommodate parents who pay fees in kind.

“Many parents, especially in rural areas, can only afford to pay fees by providing a bag of maize, a goat, or a cow to schools. These are items that cannot be processed through the eCitizen platform. The government should have considered stakeholder input before launching the system,” he said.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) supported Obuhatsa’s concerns, cautioning that mandating exclusive online fee payments might result in a drop in secondary school enrollment.

Moses Nthurima, KUPPET’s acting secretary general, stated, “Using food items for fee payments cannot be done online. This could mean that as many as one-third of secondary school students might be unable to attend school.”

Collins Oyuu, Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), also described the directive as harsh.

Oyuu proposed a hybrid payment system that would accommodate both parents who can pay online and those who use other methods.

“The system should be inclusive of all parents, including those facing financial challenges. A hybrid model would promote inclusivity,” he remarked.