Two national schools are on the spot for charging parents and guardians up to Sh300,000 school fees in the 2024 academic year, defying a directive by the Education ministry which had capped the fees at Sh67,244.
An audit by the Office of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu revealed that Starehe Boys Centre charged between Sh140,000 and Sh300,000 despite a circular setting its school fees at Sh67,244 per year, while its sister school, Starehe Girls Centre, charged Sh150,000, which was about triple the set Sh53,554.
Reports by the Auditor-General Office are often delayed and only get to published long after extended periods.
The two institutions defied a 2022 ministry circular that prohibited schools from raising school fees, exposing the extent to which schools are ignoring State controls and overburdening parents, amid complaints of haphazard increases in fees and other charges by school managements.
The institutions, however, say they have been operating a model that allows deserving students from poor backgrounds to study without paying fees or paying subsidised amounts, as well-off parents pay higher fees to support the less-fortunate students.
In an audit for the year to June 2024, which was tabled in Parliament late last year, the Starehe Girls Centre was accused of nearly tripling school fees, while denying parents representation in its key decision-making organ, the Board of Management (BOM).
Ms Gathungu flagged the irregular increase in school fees at the institution, noting that each student was overcharged Sh96,446 in just one year.
“There was a departure from the school fees charged for a Category A - Boarding Schools Fees Structure of Sh53,554 issued by the Ministry of Education...as the school charged Sh150,000, leading to an unapproved charge of Sh96,446 per student,” Ms Gathungu said.
The public auditor reckons that a school needs to get approval from the Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) before introducing additional charges, a legal requirement Starehe Girls breached.
The revelations come at a time when parents across the country have been raising complaints over schools raising fees and introducing unapproved charges, even as the government appears unable to rein in the defiance by school heads.
The Starehe Boys Centre is also accused of charging students school fees of between Sh140,000 and Sh300,000 without the approval of the Education CS.
The school’s management says it agreed with parents to pay the amounts based on their ability, but the public auditor maintains that the school cannot increase the fees beyond Sh67,244 without approval from the CS.
“The school management entered into agreement with parents to pay school fees at different rates ranging from Sh140,000 to Sh300,000 based on the parent's ability in contravention of section 3.2 of the Ministry of Education Circular Number MOE-HQS/311313 on fees charged for Category A. Boarding school of Sh67,244 which required the school management to obtain a written authority from the CS,” Ms Gathungu said.
Starehe Boys Centre Director, Fredrick Okono, on Monday contradicted the Auditor-General’s position, stating that the institution has ministry approvals to implement its learning model, where about 70 percent of the students study without paying fees or paying subsidised amounts, as the rest pay higher fees to support the majority.
Mr Okono said the school fees policy has existed for decades, and well-off parents are informed of their obligation to pay higher fees to support students from poor backgrounds before enrolling their children.
“At least 70 percent of the students are on scholarship, which means that they get school uniforms, books and access to other services for free. We make it clear to parents of fee-paying students that they are expected to support the non-fee-paying ones when they join,” Mr Okono said.
The school says it has hundreds of students who rely on such fee-paying parents, sponsors, donors and government capitation to facilitate their education, which they would otherwise not afford.
The school collected Sh92.6 million in fees from parents during the year.
Despite the illegal increase of school fees, the public auditor faults the institutions for lacking proper management systems, exposing them to understaffing and blocking parents from decision-making organs.
Starehe Boys, for instance, faced a shortage of 28 teachers during the year under review, and the institution had been without a substantive principal since October 2019.
“There was no indication of any effort made by the BOM to ensure that the vacant positions are filled,” Ms Gathungu said.
No PTA
Starehe Girls is also accused of lacking a Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), operating without mechanisms for parents to oversee its BOM and to ensure student and staff welfare.
The lack of a PTA is worsened by the failure to have a representation of parents, students, and sponsors at the school’s 10-member BOM, another breach of the law.
“Specifically, the Board did not include six persons elected to represent parents in the school, three members representing sponsors, one member representing special needs, one person representing special interest groups, and a representative of the students' council as an ex officio member,” the Auditor-General says.
The Starehe Girls Centre is one of the biggest secondary schools in the country, commanding an asset base estimated at Sh3.4 billion at the time of audit, a workforce of 71, and a student population of 746 during the year.
Fees arrears for the school during the year hit Sh31.3 million, up from Sh18.35 million the previous year.
