Nakuru Girls parents have protested the abrupt increase of third term fees by Ksh15, 500 contained in a newsletter communicated to them dated July 31, 2024.
Effectively, the fees shot up by about 150 per cent to Ksh26, 211 from the approved Ksh10, 711, placing an unbearable burden on parents who had raised a similar concern earlier in the year.
In January as schools reopened, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had the school on its radar as it probed allegations of procurement scandals that were denied by those at the centre of it. The story in this link carries the details:
DCI probes Nakuru Girls High School’s loss of Ksh20M in suspected corrupt deals
In a petition dated August 12, 2024 to Chief Principal Rose Menjo, the parents want to know whether the Ministry of Education approved the increment, demanding to be furnished with all the correspondences between the school and the ministry, and specifically the letter from the ministry approving the exorbitant increase.
“We, the parents of various students in various classes at Nakuru Girls High School do bring this petition in a response to a newsletter communication from Nakuru Girls’ High School administration dated 30th day of July 2024,” reads the petition which was signed by David Kinoti, Jared Opudo, and Douglas Ogeto representing dissenting parents.
“The said newsletter released at the end of term 2 of 2024 alluded to a planned school fee increment by Ksh15,500 for term 3 of 2024. The Newsletter indicated the increment was initiated by parents during an AGM held on July 19, 2024 and endorsed by the Board of Management in a meeting held on July 26, 2024,” it adds.
The parents have raised concerns on the number of levies which have been collected from them for various projects since 2022, notably Ksh14,000 by all students for the construction of a perimeter wall and the same amount in the 2023 intake for construction of a school gate, and an unspecified and undisclosed amount voluntarily collected from parents towards construction of the school gate during the 2023 intake.
The parents now want to know how much was raised from both levies, how much of it has been spent, and the status of the two projects.
They are also wondering why the money was paid into the usual school fees account as opposed to the separate project account for such levies and purposes, and how students who are on special scholarship will manage to raise such levies and the raised school fees.
They said if the move goes unchallenged, it is tantamount to denying such children the right to education as stipulated in Article 53 of the 2010 Kenya Constitution, calling for more transparent AGMs.
“How can the school administration make engagements with parents during AGMs more meaningful? The experience by most parents is that decisions made during the AGMS are usually predetermined, with some participants strategically located as proposers and seconders of unpopular decisions. These irregular actions turn parents into mere onlookers of AGM proceedings, and tools to rubber stamp decisions already made,” reads the petition.
Accumulated debts
The parents are also concerned about the huge debt amounting to over Ksh31 million incurred by the school.
“As per the same Newsletter, the current outstanding school fees arrears stands at only Ksh2.7 million, from a total of 2032 students; which clearly shows that non-fees payment by parents is not the cause of the said huge debts,” reads the petition.
And in the spirit of transparency, accountability, responsibility and good governance, the parents now demand to know the exact amount of debt owed by the school and over what period, the breakdown of the debt per year, income and actual expenditure, and whether the school board approved the expenditure above the income per year and if the MoE was aware of such over-spending.
YOU MAY ALSO READ:
Don’t release your children when schools reopen, Union tells parents
“Could the school have lost any money through fraud, financial impropriety, embezzlement, misuse, theft or by any other means, which caused shortfalls in income, and hence the piling up of debts? If so, how much was lost, and when? Since such debts are to be treated as pending bills, can the school share with the parents the identity of each of the said creditors with details of amount(s) owed, credit description and the year(s) when each of the supplies were made or services rendered? Can demand letters or notes by each creditor be shared with the parents to ascertain that the school is, indeed, in financial distress?” poses the petition.
Efforts by Education News to reach to the principal to share her side of the story failed as neither our calls nor SMS were answered by the time of publication of this story.
When Education News further contacted the school BoM chairperson, one Willy Kariuki, he forwarded a communication done by the Parents Association (PA) Chairperson after a meeting which was held yesterday.
“Following the Special PA-meeting held today (August 19, 2024), the Ksh15,500 school budget support and the Form 1 Computer Project AGM resolutions have been deferred until further notice,” it said, but gave no further clarity as to whether the school administration was privy to these latter development.
By Roy Hezron
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
>>> Click here to read more informed opinions on the country’s education landscape
