Heads pledge to send students home over fees
Secondary school headteachers buy textbooks during their annual conference at Wildwaters Centre in Mombasa on June 23, 2014. The Ministry of Education has stopped secondary schools heads from conducting their regional conferences outside the country. FILE PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA |
What you need to know:
- The teachers from Kanyawanga, St Joseph’s Rapogi, Kanga National and Kisumu Girls secondary schools expressed fear that food suppliers may take them to court or attach school property for failing to settle their debts.
- The tough stand by headteachers comes as former candidates whose certificates are still held by secondary schools agonise over missed employment and study opportunities.
Four secondary school heads in Nyanza on Friday warned that they would send home students with fees arrears as schools re-open on Monday.
The headteachers said this is aimed at preventing students leaving school without clearing fees.
The teachers from Kanyawanga, St Joseph’s Rapogi, Kanga National and Kisumu Girls secondary schools expressed fear that food suppliers may take them to court or attach school property for failing to settle their debts.
Kanyawanga High School principal Jacob Mbogo said: “We are going to send students home to bring fees for those who shall not have come with the money during opening because we do not have funds to run the institution,” he said.
He said students owed the school Sh7.5 million in fees arrears.
St Joseph’s Rapogi School Principal Maurice Ndolo said the school was owed Sh14 million in fees arrears, told parents to ensure students report with full fees.
“Although I cannot contradict the government position, the situation is tough. This is the truth. We appreciate that alarming poverty in this region hampers payment of fees by parents, but we will send the children home if they don’t come with money during the opening day,” Mr Ndolo said.
Mr Michael Ogweno, the principal of Kanga National School in Migori County said he would wait for a circular directing him to release certificates to former students who left school with debts.
Parents owe the school Sh11 million. Kisumu Girls Principal Mary Akunja said detained certificates date back to 1980s and account for Sh20 million in uncleared fees.
“The fee arrears of last year are about Sh850, 000. We will have to send our students back home next week if they don’t clear the third term fee,” says Ms Akunja
IGNORE CERTIFICATES ORDER
The teachers spoke even as the Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general Wilson Sossion and the Kenya National Secondary Heads Association vice chair Mr Tahi Indimuli told them to ignore the order to release certificates.
“We urge the head teachers to continue holding the certificates so long as the government is not ready for dialogue,” Mr Sossion said.
The tough stand by headteachers comes as former candidates whose certificates are still held by secondary schools agonise over missed employment and study opportunities.
Alfred Onduso, 23, an orphan who sat his final exams in 2009 and scored a mean grade of C+ (plus) is yet to get his certificate from St Marks Obambo Mixed Secondary School in Kisumu over uncleared Sh35,000.
And even after he won a scholarship to study Information Technology at Great Lakes University of Kisumu, his hope has faded as he does not have the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and a school leaving certificate.
Clarkson Obura,19, too is yet to get his certificates from Otieno Oyoo Secondary School where he attained a mean grade of B+(plus) in 2012 due to an outstanding balance of Sh42,135.
Additional reporting Geoffrey Rono
