Education

State explains why it adopted eCitizen in school fee payments

Principal Secretary for State Department for Citizen Services Julius Bitok. (X/Julius Bitok)

By Lucy Mumbi | Monday, February 5, 2024

The PS said the school heads will be able to access all the funds on the digital platform.

The State has clarified that the decision to have parents pay school fees through the eCitizen platform was in a bid to harmonise the fee collection process.

Principal Secretary of State Department for Citizen Services Julius Bitok on Monday said the move will promote transparency and accountability.

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"It will also entrench an effective monitoring system on compliance with the relevant policies and regulations governing levying and payment of fees in public secondary schools," Bitok added.

The PS said a transparent section has been set up on the digital platform such that heads of schools will be able to access the funds in full amounts.

"The directorate of eCitizen has set up a payment collection process that is convenient and transparent to ensure that principals will be able to access funds received for their schools promptly and in full," Bitok said.

According to Bitok, the new payment system will be implemented in phases to ensure a smooth rollout.

He said they would begin with national schools and subsequently extend to extra county and county schools.

"The implementation of the payment process through the eCitizen forum will be undertaken in consultation with stakeholders. We are open to discussions and other inputs that will support the objectives of the directive," he said.

In a circular dated January 31, 2024, addressed to all national school principals, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang directed the institution heads to share school bank account details with the office of the State Department's Director General.

"In preparation for the launch, please provide all your institutions' bank account details in the following format: Account name, bank, account number, bank code, branch code," Kipsang' said.

"Please ensure that the aforementioned information is submitted to the office of the Director General, State Department for Basic Education not later than February 6, 2024, by emailing dg@education.go.ke and copying to: sa.basic@education.go.ke."

On Monday, former secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Wilson Sossion welcomed the government's directive, saying it will help curb graft in schools.

He said the eCitizen platform is configured to promote transparency and eliminate all forms of corruption, allowing the government to track and account for all the funds it collects.

"Because of lack of audits and accountability structures in schools, some of these charges have escalated and schools have become entities of corruption in procurement," he said during an interview with Citizen TV on Monday.

"When you pay through the eCitizen, you will pay fees within the stipulated guidelines. The government will be able to audit some of the additional levies that have become big avenues of exploiting parents and creating barriers to school attendance."