Parents of Usenge Comprehensive School in Bondo Sub-county, Siaya held demonstrations calling for removal of head teacher and deputy over financial impropriety and illegal levies.
The agitated parents called for the removal of the school’s Principal Erick Adera and his deputy Pauline Nyabenge.
They interrupted learning at the school blocking the two from accessing the school and accused them of embezzling funds marked for development and introducing illegal levies for their own financial benefits.
Led by Lilian Akoth, the parents asked for immediate transfer of the head teacher and his deputy for turning the school into a business entity which has negatively affected the performance of the pupils.
Akoth said that the head teacher, Adera forced parents to contribute money for the construction of pit latrines and tiling of classes only for the projects to be branded as done by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
She said that the government recently finished the construction of Grade 9 classrooms at the school but the head teacher carried away the remaining materials like sand to his home.
“Adera recently took a lorry full of sand from the school to his home. He also embezzled tree seedling money from World Bank and forced pupils to bring seedling from home to be planted in school. We do not know where he is taking our money,” Akoth said.
Absalom Oriaro also a parent at the school disclosed that the school has forced grade 7 and 8 learners to pay KSh3000 per term for lunch and any of the students who carry food from home has to go hungry as their food is poured away to force them to buy lunch in school.
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Oriaro said that the head teacher and his deputy also force grade 6 learners joining Grade 7 from the same school to pay KSh500 each, money which is not accounted for.
He said that efforts to seek redress from the school board of management did not bore any fruits as the board is split over the management of funds at the institution.
Another parent Jack Oloo disclosed that teachers and subordinate staff at the school have not been paid for the last four months asking the government through the MoE to intervene by removing the head teacher who is running down the school.
They have therefore called for the immediate cancellation of school lunch programme, the barring of teachers from doing businesses in the schools besides the transfer of Adera and Nyabenge.
Attempts to reach the two on phone to comment on the accusations by the parents did not bare fruits as their phones went unanswered.
By Erick Nyayiera
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