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A State official shows how to access a government service through eCitizen. [David Gichuru, Standard]
The government's renewed push to compel parents to pay school fees through the e-Citizen platform is wilful stubbornness that ignores both the courts and the harsh realities of millions of Kenyan families. It should be dropped.
The education sector has already absorbed too much government meddling to now add another layer of bureaucratic interference. From the refusal to hire adequate teachers to match an expanding student population, to the chronic delay and reduction of capitation funds, to the preposterous decision to merge junior secondary school capitation with primary school allocations, the government's record in education is a catalogue of missteps. Trying to force fee payment through e-Citizen is the latest addition to that list.
Not every Kenyan parent owns a smartphone or lives near a cyber café. Officials at Huduma Centres in towns like Maralal have noted that government online services frequently experience outages and delays, leaving clients in limbo.
