Education

School fees payment via eCitizen will curb graft, Sossion says

Wilson Sossion, the former secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), addresses the press in Nairobi in this file picture. (Photo: NMG)

By Bashir Mohammed | Monday, February 5, 2024

Sossion noted that the eCitizen is configured to promote transparency and eliminate all forms of corruption, allowing the government to track and account for all the funds it collects.

Former teachers' union boss Wilson Sossion has welcomed the government’s directive for parents of students in national schools to directly pay fees through the eCitizen platform, saying it will ward off corruption.

In a television interview on Monday, he noted that the eCitizen is configured to promote transparency and eliminate all forms of corruption, allowing the government to track and account for all the funds it collects.

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Sossion, formerly the secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), explained that with the eCitizen, graft will be rooted out of Kenya's schools, many of which he said have been overcharging parents by imposing additional unjustified fees.

“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 on Citizen TV.

“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.”

Sossion further acknowledged the issue of schools selling uniforms at their premises, in violation of government regulations, but said these payments will not be processed via the eCitizen platform as it is exclusively for fees.

“The procurement of uniforms through schools has become such a big business that even a shirt, for example, can cost Sh7,000 yet on the market it costs much lower, he said. “There are guidelines that state that schools are not supposed to procure uniforms. Parents will have to procure uniforms using other means."

The Ministry of Education announced the fee payment changes in a circular dated January 31, 2024.

Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang' said the move is in line with the government's mission to integrate all its services onto the platform, for efficiency.

To facilitate the transition, PS Kipsang' ordered national school heads to provide all their institutions' bank account details by February 6, 2024.

Earlier, the ministry warned public schools against asking parents for levies outside the authorised fee guidelines. Kipsang' noted that the constitution mandates the government to implement free and compulsory basic education for all school-going children so no extra fees should be charged.