Education CS George Magoha
Busara Primary School parents wrote the below letter addressed to the Sub County Director of Education for Embakasi.
Many people thought that the scourge of paying for a slot was only in secondary schools. But imagine paying Sh10,000 for your kid to be accepted into a primary school
RE: COMPLAINT AGAINST YOUR OFFICE IN REGARDS TO LEVIES CHARGED AT BUSARA PRIMARY SCHOOL.
Dear Sir/Madam
REF: is made to the letters addressed to your office dated 12/05/2021 and 15/03/2021 which were received in your office on the very dates in regards to the illegal levies charged at Busara primary school and copies of the same attached. Also attached are two investigative reports from the school auditors with REF. RDE /NRB/PS//1/18VOL1/53 dated 15/09/2020 and RDE/NRB/PS/1/18VOL1/59 dated 8/02/2021 respectively.
Your office has deliberately refused to respond or act on the complaints from us parents in regards to this illegal levies. Admission fees as per the basic education act is illegal and considering that no receipts are issued and some parents are made to pay twice for the same. In fact, the basic education guidelines are so categorical. If action won't be taken to enforce this guidelines Busara primary school risks being turned into an exclusive club for the children of the rich which will exclude many bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds from accessing and participating in education at this prime public utility school.
The schools were opened yesterday the 26th and the PP2 parents are forced to pay Ksh 5000/= being admission fees again before their children are promoted to class one and this has to be done by Wednesday the 28th of July. The same parents paid Icsh 8,700/= before their children were admitted in PP1 Some new parents whom their children were admitted in the school recently as last term are wondering at the unfolding events.
This is daylight robbery and amounts to corruption and its corruption at its best. The school audit report to date has never been addressed by the school management. Attached is copy of the same. Any scheme to defraud parents money paid inform of admission fees, development fees and any other fees should be stopped immediately.
Access to information is anchored in the constitution and your office was directed to write to the school headteacher to stop all these levies with immediate effect until when we shall have an AGM. These actions by the school have always appeared illegal, unjust, and improper. As the office bearer and being public servants you have failed to act as directed and where necessary, service failure, You have delayed in taking action.Your inefficiency and unresponsiveness should not be allowed.
This gives us reasons to believe that your office might be colluding with the school management to defraud parents or maybe you are benefiting directly or indirectly from their actions. Demanding money from parents majority of whom are really badly economically from ravages of covid is in acceptable considering that the same money has been misappropriated as per the reports from the school auditors. There is also need to promote good governance and your office should lead by example .We need to cultivate a culture of accountability and transparency. The letter that we have been demanding is key in addressing the issue at hand.
Your quick response to this matter will be appreciated and the same can be emailed to the undersigned
Cc. Principal Secretary ministry of education Regional director ministry of education.