Students at Emmanuel Springs Academy in Makueni County were chased away from the institution, on Tuesday, October 19, over swimming pool construction levies.
In a letter dated Wednesday, September 29, the headteacher, Patrick Mutua, reminded parents to pay Ksh10,000 for each student for the swimming pool project.
The private school outlined that the levy, which was not incorporated into the school fees, was aligned with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) requirements.
“The school has started a swimming pool project to incorporate the much demanding CBC to ensure quality education to our pupils and also for their relaxation (leisure). Each pupil will pay Ksh10,000, broken into two instalments, Ksh5,000 in term II and Ksh5,000 in term III 2021,” the letter sent to each parent read.
Parents were also asked to pay a laundry fee of Ksh1,000 for pupils experiencing laundry challenges. This laundry fee was to be paid directly to the mobile number of the uniform office manager, rather than a pay bill number or the school’s bank account.
Parents who spoke with Kenyans.co.ke raised concerns with the decision, arguing that they had already cleared the school fees arrears of the majority of the students sent home. Some classes pay up to Ksh30,000 school fees per term, plus Ksh2,000 tuition and Ksh1,000 examination fees which are paid separately.
In a month, parents therefore part with between Ksh39,000 and Ksh44,000.
“I was informed that my student was chased from class. I called the class teacher and informed him that I will not pay the money as I had cleared the school fee. Mind you, we also pay Ksh2,000 per year for the teachers’ motivation fee yet they (teachers) do not receive this money,” one parent complained.
“It is funny to note that the school director, Stephen Nzioka, is also the principal of a public school known as Utafiti Primary School in Kibwezi. This is a conflict of interest,” another guardian added.
Reports alleged that Nzioka, the director, is colluding with education officials in the county to extort parents. Some guardians claimed that one of the top Ministry of Education officials in the county resided at Nzioka’s residential houses.
“We believe that Nzioka is bribing the education officials to allow him to manage the private school and head the primary school,” one parent alleged.
The director, declined to speak to Kenyans.co.ke after listening to the parent’s allegations.
“I don’t respond to social media rumours,” Nzioka retorted and hung up the phone.
Kenyans.co.ke reached out to Makueni County Education writer, James Gachungi, who also played cagey with the reports.
“I am in a meeting. Can we talk later,” he stated and requested to be texted. Gachungi, however, did not respond to the messages sent via text and Whatsapp.
In a letter dated Sunday, October 17, aggrieved parents wrote to the school director, raising 11 issues they wanted to be addressed.
We, the parents of Emmanuel Springs Academy, wish to appreciate the good work that the school is doing to partner with us and build the foundation of our children’s future. We take the earliest opportunity to thank the teachers, the management, the subordinate staff and all those who interact with our children on a daily basis.
“We do not take that for granted. We, however, take note of some disturbing issues that have come up through various channels that need to be addressed as soon as possible in order to sustain the good name of the school,” they wrote.
These included; fees increment through the swimming pool project, the school failing to share key information with parents, victimisation of parents who raise concerns, poor parents-day organisation and subsequent meetings, poor handling of cases regarding lost items of students in school, students staying hungry during opening and closing dates.
Others were congestion and the safety of students in the dormitories and lack of clean drinking water.
“We are also pushing for moderate discipline measures- It is noted that there are incidences of harsh caning and unrealistic discipline measures like when children are punished for greeting their parents. Some teachers use derogatory and demeaning language while abusing our children,” an excerpt of the letter reads.
Parents further lamented that prize giving day should be dedicated to the motivation of teachers, pupils and even other staff like cooks and drivers. The school had not yet responded to their concerns by the time of publication.
