Cabinet directs ministry to digitise education sector within 30 days

President William Ruto chaired a cabinet meeting at State House Nairobi on Feb 14, 2024. [PCS]

The Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Education to digitise the sector within 30 days to end fraud and exploitation of parents.

The Cabinet said that the capitation funds that the government sends to schools must only go to "real children."

The Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday, noted that digitisation of the education sector is being sabotaged, and cited the 10,000 candidates the government paid for their registration fee for national examinations but never turned up to sit the papers.

"Resistance to paying fees through e-Citizen is by those who have created parallel bank accounts the way parallel pay bills have been set up across the public service," President Ruto said.

The Cabinet also resolved that digitisation of services must be extended to Technical and Vocational Education institutions and universities, including at the Higher Education Loans Board.

At the same meeting, the Cabinet was notified that Kenya will host three major conferences.

Between February 26 and March 1, the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will be held at the United Nations Environmental Programme headquarters in Nairobi. More than 5,000 delegates have confirmed attendance.

Kenya will also host the Network of Africa Data Protection Authority Conference.

The country will also host the African Minerals Geo-Science Centre Policy Organ Meetings in Nairobi.

Together with the International Telecommunication Union, Kenya has won the right to host the Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. The bid was competitive and Kenya won.

The Cabinet approved the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System Phase 3. This project will include installing an intelligent transport system in 125 junctions across the city.

Through the project, 30 intelligent traffic checkpoints and 80 traffic flow detection points will be installed.

The Cabinet also approved the 2024 Budget Policy Statement, the second in the Kenya Kwanza Government. The policy reaffirms the administration's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda priorities.

The meeting also approved the Division of Revenue Bill 2024, County Allocation Revenue Bill 2024, County Governments Additional Allocations Bill 2024 and The Medium Term Debt Management Strategy 2024.