Irate parents of State House Girls staged protests after they were reportedly locked out by the school principal over school fees.
The demonstrations which happened on Wednesday, January 25, saw the parents raise complaints after it emerged that those with fees arrears could not access the institution.
It was also reported that the school turned away parents who had not met other conditions, including the purchase of items.
“She demanded the full school fees to be paid for the students to be allowed to school. I have paid half of it, where will I get the whole amount while am just a hustler?
For a whole term, the full school fee is Ksh26,000, where will I find such an amount now,” one of the parents lamented.
Even after meeting all the requirements, the school was still not ready to admit the students as parents complained of being taken in circles by the school administration.
“When I came I was told I cannot be allowed to school without ream papers, I went to buy the papers only to find that they were selling at Ksh800 while they go at Ksh500 at the supermarket.
This is just another business they are conducting here. After going to be cleared for the ream papers I was told they were having a meeting but I then found out that there was no meeting,” another parent complained.
Speaking to Citizen TV, the principal, Evelyn Nabukwesi, refuted the claims and blamed the parents for taking advantage of the government’s directive to evade the responsibilities of paying school fees.
“Some parents have been playing hide and seek for years with school fees arrears accumulating to millions of shillings,” she stated.
Police were called to contain the situation and avert disruption of traffic flow along the busy State House Road.
The protest came as Members of Parliament threatened to impeach Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u for the delayed release of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
According to the Ministry of Education, no student should be sent away due to school fees arrears.
“Do not send a Kenyan child home. If the parent comes with Ksh4,000 and the balance is Ksh10,000, take the Ksh4, 000 and agree when he is going to bring the Ksh10, 000," the late Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha directed.
State House Girls is a prestigious National School and an academic giant, having posted impressive results in KCSE 2022 results.
