Economy

MPs summon top high school heads over Sh112m loss

ababu

Parliamentary Accounts Committee chair Ababu Namwamba said the school heads should appear before the committee and take full responsibility. PHOTO | FILE

At least 10 heads of top high schools have been summoned to appear in Parliament over alleged mis-appropriation of up to Sh112 million disbursed by the Treasury to finance subsidised secondary education.

Some of the schools featuring on the Auditor-General’s list of shame include Friends School-Kamusinga, Nairobi School, Kenya High, Kenyatta High, Mary Hills Girls, Limuru Girls and Lenana High.

They are accused of, among other things, inflating contract prices, total payment for incomplete works, over-payment of contractors and breach of procurement and disposal regulations.

“Principals of the schools involved in mishandling of public funds should appear before the committee and take full responsibility,” said chairman of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee Ababu Namwamba while commenting on the Auditor-General’s report covering the 2011/12 accounts currently under review by the MPs.

According to the report about 15 per cent of the nearly Sh750 million disbursed to 11 national schools for rehabilitation of buildings and other facilities was misappropriated.

Friends School-Kamusinga could not present documentary evidence for expenditure of Sh14.2 million of the Sh25 million meant for rehabilitation works in 2010/11.

The school’s management had offered an explanation that the documents were destroyed by fire at the Bungoma District Schools Audit Office but there is no evidence to support the fire incident claims.

Nairobi School on the other hand breached Public Procurement and Disposal Regulations by awarding a contract to the fourth lowest bidder as opposed to the lowest bidder.

During 2010/11 financial year, the school received Sh25 million for rehabilitation of school facilities and construction of a toilet block.

At the Kenya High School, Sh48 million meant for construction of three classrooms, renovation of a kitchen and expansion of a dormitory were instead used for construction of staff living quarters.

Limuru Girls High School overpaid a contractor by Sh2.5 million yet physical verification and discussions held with the project management team revealed 30 per cent of works were incomplete.

The rest of the national schools put on the spot include Muthale Girls School (Kitui), Malindi Boys School and Chepsaita High School (Uasin-Ngishu).

Mr Namwamba said the culpable school heads will face the law after verification of the claims.

“It is due to such pilferage where school funds are mismanaged that parents are still burdened to pay illegal levies because the schools are broke,” he said.