A parent has taken St. George's Girls Secondary School to court over illegal levies charged by the board of management disguised as school fees.
The parent, identified as MW to protect his daughter at the national girls' secondary school, said parents were forced to clear the Sh5,000 remedial fee before the students were allowed back to class, after the mid-term break on March 5.
Apart from the remedial fee, MW was asked to pay Sh2,210 for the replacement of four misplaced books, which were paid at market rates.
Other levies allegedly charged by the school are a dorm project of Sh8,000, a budget deficit of Sh5,000, and an ICT infrastructure fund of Sh2,000.
The levies are imposed despite paying Sh40,000 tuition fees.
“That the school continues to levy remedial and development fees unlawfully to the detriment of parents and the students in particular. The petitioner, other parents, and the students would be gravely prejudiced and will suffer irreparable loss and damage if these illegal levies are not declared unlawful,” he said.
High Court judge Lawrence Mugambi certified the case as urgent and directed lawyer Felix Mokaya to serve the court documents upon the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Attorney General Justin Muturi.
The parent wants the levies declared illegal and for the school management barred from harassing, victimising or bullying his daughter in any manner.
“That the respondent's conduct amounts to an illegality and this Honourable court is enjoined to protect the petitioner on behalf of the students from being visited with an illegality,” MW said.
According to MW, the parents were never consulted before the fees were imposed yet in a notice, the school management stated that no student would be allowed back to school until the fee is cleared.
The parent says the school has refused to respond to the issues he raised regarding the legality of the remedial fee but only referred him to minutes of the meeting held by parents but with no signatures.
When he insisted, the parent was referred to the Ministry of Education, to which he wrote them a letter but he is yet to get a response.
To make it worse, the parent said the money is paid through MPesa and there is no official receipt despite demanding it.
“That I swear this affidavit on my own behalf and on behalf of my fellow parents in the said school and without herein in support of the grant of the orders south in the application,” he said.
He argues that Article 53(1)(b) guarantees that every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education and it was, therefore, wrong for the school to deny his daughter entry for not paying the remedial fee.
