The High Court in Nairobi has temporarily suspended a recent government directive requiring parents to pay school fees for their children through the eCitizen platform.
Milimani Law Courts Judge, Justice Chacha Mwita issued the orders on Wednesday, February 07, following a petition filed by Nakuru doctor Magare Gikenyi on Tuesday.
Dr. Gikenyi, a doctor who works for the county government of Nakuru, challenged this new directive, terming it illegal and unfair.
According to Gikenyi, the directive violated the principles of good governance and would disadvantage parents in rural areas who were accustomed to paying school fees via non-monetary means, such as trading maize, beans, and firewood with the school.
Justice Mwita suspended the circular which was issued by Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang pending further directions to be issued in the case on February 13, 2024.
“An interim conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the Circular or letter by the Principal Secretary (Belio R Kipsang), Ministry of Education dated 31st January 2024, requiring parents/guardians and or students to pay fees and or any other levies for all government learning institutions through e-citizen platform or any other digital platform(s) until 13th February 2024, when the court will issue further directions in this petition,” ruled the judge.
A memo to all national school principals dated January 31, 2024, and signed by PS Kipsang directed institution heads to share school bank account details with the office of the State Department’s Director-General by Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
This directive was part of the government’s efforts to onboard all government services onto the e-Citizen platform to enhance service delivery.
This move followed a directive from Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u that all government services would be onboarded on the eCitizen platform, with access fees effective from December 14, 2023.
This week, the University of Nairobi sent a memo to its students and staff directing that customers in its kitchens pay for meals through eCitizen as part of this government directive. The memo gave a unique identifier for each cafeteria for payment through the 222222 Paybill number.
