Gov’t clarifies education ministry directive to have school fees paid through e-citizen

The national government has come out to clarify the directive by the Ministry of Education to have school fees paid through the e-Citizen platform.

Through a statement, the Principal Secretary of Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok said the move is intended to harmonize the collection of school fees.

“The objective of this directive is to harmonize the collection of school fees, enhance the coordination of the process, and promote transparency and accountability. It will also entrench an elective monitoring system on compliance with the relevant policies and regulations governing levying and payment of fees in public secondary schools.”

The Ministry of Education through a circular dated January 31, 2024, directed principals of all secondary national schools to submit their banking details to the ministry to facilitate the payment of fees through the e-Citizen platform.

Bitok said that the e-Citizen directorate has set up a payment collection process that is “convenient and transparent to ensure that principals will be able to access funds for their schools promptly and in full.”

“To ensure a smooth rollout, the new payment system will be implemented in phases beginning with national schools and subsequently extending to Extra County and Couty Schools,” Bitok added.

He also explained that the implementation of the new school fee payment system will be conducted in consultation with stakeholders, adding that the department is open to discussions and other inputs to support the goals of the directive.

What details are principals required to provide for the e-Citizen platform?

Every school head of a national secondary school is required to submit the institution’s account name, bank, account number, bank code, and branch code to the director general of basic education not later than February 6, 2024.

The details are to be sent through email to dg@education.go.ke and copied to sa.basic@education.go.ke.

According to the government, the move to have parents pay school fees through e-citizen is in line with the government’s efforts to have government services onboarded on the platform.