Parents are feeling the financial pinch of their children’s indiscipline after being ordered to pay millions of shillings for rebuilding facilities destroyed in the recent wave of unrest in schools.
The parents in the affected institutions will be required to pay for the damages before their children are readmitted, only a month after paying fees in the first week of January as learning institutions reopened following a 10-month Covid-19 break.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha insists that the burden of rebuilding the facilities, mostly dormitories, be shouldered by parents. He has also outlawed transfer to other schools of students implicated in crime.
In Nandi County, parents of the 104 students at Kemeloi Boys’ High School will have to pay a penalty of Sh5,000 each to rebuild a dormitory.
They’re also to pay an additional Sh6,000 for a chain-link fence.
“For readmission, all Form Four students, who have been suspended, will have to fulfil the following conditions, which includes full payment of Sh11,000 penalty when they report back,” said the principal, Kiptoo Kimoso, in a letter to parents.
Parents of St Luke’s Lumakanda Boys in Lugari Sub-county will raise Sh3.5 million to rebuild a dormitory that was razed. The more than 500 students will each pay Sh7,000 before readmission.
Parents at Chebwagan Boys Secondary in Kericho County, will pay Sh5,000 each for reconstruction of a dormitory destroyed by fire last year.
Valuation to establish the cost of the damage on dormitories burnt down at Tengecha Boys’ High and Cheborgei Boys in Kericho County, and Kimulot Boys’ High in Bomet County, is in progress.
On Saturday night, dormitories at Kabungu Boys’ High School and Chebunyo Boys’ Secondary in Bomet Central and Chepalungu constituencies were also destroyed in suspected cases of arson by students.
Teams from the Public Works Department are assessing the damage before coming up with the cost of repairs.
Kisumu School principal Peter Obwogo said the BoM will make the final decision concerning the payment for rebuilding of a dormitory.
In Migori County, the Nyatike NG-CDF has promised to rebuild a 161-capacity dormitory at Moi Boys High School that was burnt down in unclear circumstances.
The principal, Stephen Aula, said the fire might have been caused by an electric fault.
The parents of St Luke’s Lumakanda Boys have accused the management of capitalising on the indiscipline of a few students to punish the entire school.
“We expected the management to investigate the incident and narrow it down to prime suspects to pay for their evil deeds and not to force all us to pay for things that our children did not destroy,” a parent said.
Mohamed Hussein, a parent at Chesamisi High School in Kimilili, said they have been asked to pay Sh10,000 each. With a school population of 1,700 students, the total mount raised could be as high as Sh17 million.
“Schools should ensure parents pay a reasonable amount of money. Some have placed a huge fine on parents who struggle to pay fees,” Mr Hussein said.
Kimabole High School, Bungoma High, Chesamisi High, Kimilili Boys, Ndivisi Boys, Khasoko Boys, Bukembe Boys and Mbakalo Boys in Bungoma County have all been affected. In Kirinyaga, parents of Karumandi and Karia Secondary schools yesterday said they should not be “punished for their children’s behavior”.
Students of St Mary Karumandi Boys Secondary last week set ablaze two dormitories. In Tigania East, Meru County, parents at Mukuiru Secondary will pay for rebuilding a dormitory that was razed down by students.
Reported by Tom Matoke, Titus Ominde, Onyango K’Onyango, Barnabas and Brian Ojamaa, George Munene, Charles Wanyoro, Vitalis Kimtai, George Odiwuor, Derick Luvega, Elizabeth Ojina and Ian Byron, Kalume Kazungu and Charles Lwanga
