eCITIZEN: Founder breaks down money transactions via the platform
President William Ruto is pushing for the use of the eCitizen platform to pay school fees.
However, the courts have suspended the Ministry of Education’s directive until April 17, when a case challenging the new order will be heard.
This initiative, which was first announced by Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, is part of a larger effort to streamline government services and improve service delivery using technology.
James Ayugi, eCitizen’s founder, has now provided an insightful explanation of how the system ensures transparency and efficiency in school fee payments.
The system’s central requirement is that every school and its bank account be registered in order to eliminate ghost schools and students, a common problem in the education sector.
Each school that has registered with the Ministry of Education is assigned a unique account.
Similarly, each student is assigned a student identification number, which links them to their respective schools.
This setup enables real-time tracking of fee payments, ensuring that when fees are paid, the information is immediately available to schools.
The eCitizen platform serves as a storage and tracking mechanism, keeping a transparent record of the funds collected by each school.
Ayugi revealed that once a parent has paid school fees, the government will notify the school that the money has been received, and at the end of the day, the funds will be transferred to the school’s bank account.
“This money still goes to schools to fund operations as per the law because they are the only people who are allowed to collect and spend it but also the government funds these schools, so you have scenarios where schools claim to have no money yet they are collecting school fees because there is no visibility,” stated James Ayugi
“When you realize that you’re dealing with thousands of schools, it is very difficult to keep track of what’s happening manually, but in real time you have these statistics,” added Ayugi.
This level of oversight is critical in preventing schools from imposing unauthorized additional fees, a practice that has placed an undue burden on parents.
He also stated that the government has no way of knowing how much each school collects in school fees.
The system’s digitalization aims to eliminate outdated manual tracking and accountability issues.
By centralizing the flow of information and funds, the government and National Treasury gain real-time visibility into all schools’ financial operations.
This visibility is critical for preventing fraud and ensuring that schools receive the appropriate amount of government funding based on their actual student enrollment.
The move to eCitizen for school fee payments is consistent with President Ruto’s broader vision of a digital-first government that aims to reduce corruption and improve service delivery across the board.
eCITIZEN: Founder breaks down money transactions via the platform
