Outrage as city school principal locks out students over fees 

The decision by the principal of St Anne’s Girls Secondary School in Makadara, Nairobi, to lock out students who reported back to school without school fees has sparked public outrage.

Ms Veronica Muli, on Tuesday, blocked the girls - some of whom had travelled long distances - from entering the school. The affected learners camped outside the school gate until 9pm.

One of the parents who witnessed the scenario told Nation that the students arrived early in the afternoon, before the 4pm deadline, but because of arrears, they were denied entry.

“It was not the first time this was happening. I was here earlier and had to return because the principal declined to grant me audience,” said Ms Mercy Atieno, adding that she wanted to transfer her Form Two child to another school.

Human rights defender Dennis Esikuri said that they camped with the students outside the gate, pleading with the security guard to open it for them. However, their efforts were ignored until around 9pm, when officials from the County CDF office and the police arrived.

“Some students had arrears of Sh1,000, and some KSh 500, but were not allowed in. Yet we all know that we have CDF bursaries which usually reflect when learning is ongoing. This is a bad picture, and the school principal must be held accountable for the future of this school,” Mr Esikuri said.

The incident shocked the country when photos and videos of students camping outside the school gate went viral, as Kenyans expressed their displeasure at the way the learners were treated.

Both President William Ruto and Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos have directed that no learner should be sent away from school due to fee arrears.

National Chairman of the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (Kessha), Willie Kuria, said that the school should have prioritised the safety of students and followed up on the matter of school fees the following day.
“I would like to seek comments from other principals, but it would have been good for the school to allow the students in first,” Mr Kuria said.

The lockout of the students prompted the area Member of Parliament George Aladwa to visit the school on Wednesday morning to assess the situation.

“My call to the Ministry of Education is to transfer the principal from this school, and we will have peace. This is not the first time seeing such complaints, and we want to call the parents whose children were sent home because of school fees to bring them back. I will be here waiting to see if she will send them home again,” Mr Aladwa said.

The MP said that it was wrong for the school head to send students back home due to school fees, especially as it was their first day to report to school.

“It was unnecessary to send students home. We now want calm in the school and to have those who were locked out relax and stop imagining that they will be chased away.”

The lawmaker said the principal should take responsibility for risking the lives of young girls at night by directing guards to ensure that only students with zero school balance were allowed in.

St Anne’s School is one of the county schools in Nairobi, admitting students from several parts of the country, and some of those who were locked out were from far-flung areas.

Attempts to get Ms Muli to comment on the matter failed, as she remained silent and avoided the camera during a meeting with a section of sub-county leaders. The MP said the meeting was convened to address the issue.

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