Secondary education ministry to audit digital fee payments system.

The letter is addressed to all Regional Delegates of Secondary Education in the country.

According to the note, an audit team from the Anti-Corruption Unit of the ministry will assess the digital payment system of the various government secondary schools across the country for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 academic years.

The decision, according to Boniface Bayaola, followed year-on-year drop in the number of students registered through the digital payment system.

He instructed all regional delegates to work in close collaboration with the audit team on duty so they can better assess the situation before the start of the new school year.

A senior official at the Ministry of Secondary Education is quoted as having revealed that at the launched of the online payment platform, they were able to collect some 48 billion FCFA in few years but unfortunately, they have experienced a drastic drop.

Another source on his part noted that the audit will help the ministry to better understand the reason behind the decline in collected funds in recent years. 

The same source suggested that some school officials might still be collecting fees in cash, thereby bypassing the digital system.

Worthy to recall is the fact the decision to put in place the digital payment of school fees was signed August 3, 2020. 

It was decision was signed by the Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga.

According to the member of government, the payment of school fees and other examination fees will be done electronically throughout the national territory.
The move, Prof Nalova Lyonga stated in the release, seeks to fight against corruption and embezzlement of funds within the school milieu.

Prof Nalova Lyonga, while signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the ministry and some payment platforms in Yaounde, had reiterated that the goal of the digital payment of tuition and examination fees is to ensure security, transparency and traceability in the management of these funds. 

Note that the institutions concerned with the digital payment system are: Ecobank, MTN, Express Union, CAMPOST, Afriland First Bank. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3172 of Thursday July 18, 2024