Starehe Boys Centre and Starehe Girls are on the spot for charging exorbitant school fees in defiance to instructions from the Ministry of Education.
According to a report that was issued by the Office of the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in the academic year 2024, the Starehe schools charged parents up to Sh300,000 in fees even though the ministry had capped school fees at Sh67,244.
Starehe Boys led in charging exorbitant fees, with quotations that ranged between Sh140,000 and Sh300,000.
On its part, Starehe Girls charged fees of Sh150,000. This was thrice the amount of Sh53,554 that had been recommended by the Ministry of Education.
The report by Ms Gathungu noted that at the girls’ school, each student was overcharged by up to Sh96,446 within 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,” the report stated.
At the boys’ school, the school management claimed that it had agreed with parents that students would be charged fees according to their abilities. However, the Auditor General found this to be inaccurate.
“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 parents’ ability in contravention to section 3.2 of the Ministry of Education Circular Number MOE-HQS/311313 on fees charged for Category A. Boarding school for SH67,244 which required the school management to obtain a written authority from the (Cabinet Secretary for Education),” the report stated.
In that academic year, the report noted that the school collected over Sh92 million from parents.
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In addition to the illegal fees charged by the two schools, the Auditor General’s report found out that the schools had blocked parents from participating in decision-making organs. It also found that the schools lacked proper management systems that had resulted in understaffing.
At the time of the audit, the boys’ school had not had a substantive principal for close to five years. The school also had a shortage of 28 teachers, yet “there was no indication of any effort by the Board of Management to ensure that the vacant positions are filled.”
The girls school was also operating without representation for parents and a board of management that had no one to hold it accountable.
