The High Court has blocked the government from implementing a directive requiring all school fee payments to be made through the eCitizen platform.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Chacha Mwita found the directive, introduced by former Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang in January 2024, to be unlawful and lacking proper legal backing.
Lack of Legal Basis
According to Justice Mwita, the government had not followed due process in implementing the directive, particularly in engaging the public before its rollout.
“The directive lacks a legal foundation and was issued without public participation. School fees are not government revenue to be collected through a national platform,” the judge ruled.
The court also raised concerns over the mandatory Sh50 transaction fee imposed on payments, terming it an unjustified charge.
“It does not make sense for the government to compel citizens to use a platform and then force them to pay to sustain it,” Justice Mwita remarked, arguing that the fee amounted to double taxation.
Transparency Concerns
The ruling also questioned the transparency of the eCitizen system, noting that there was no clarity on how the collected funds were managed.
The petition challenging the directive was filed by Dr. Magare Gikenyi, a Nakuru-based medical practitioner, who argued that there was no legislative framework governing how the collected school fees were handled or refunded. He also highlighted the potential disadvantage to parents who traditionally pay school fees through in-kind contributions such as maize and beans.
In response, the government defended its decision, maintaining that the eCitizen platform was constitutional and essential for promoting accountability in fee payments. Officials also insisted that the Sh50 transaction fee was necessary to sustain the system.
However, the court rejected the government’s request to suspend the ruling for 90 days, denying them additional time to prepare an appeal.
Setback for Education Digitisation Plans
The judgment is seen as a blow to the government’s broader plan to digitise Kenya’s education system. The administration had envisioned the eCitizen platform as a key tool in streamlining school fee payments, enhancing accountability, and eliminating fraudulent practices such as ghost students and mismanagement of funds.
Despite the setback, the government remains keen on expanding digitisation efforts across the education sector to improve transparency and efficiency.
