Parents in Masalani Shurie Secondary School in Ijara Sub County, are compelled to pay additional Sh 3000 in remedial studies for students who attained grade E in form two, three and form fours.
Talking to KNA the parents led by Maryan Abdi, Ismail Ali, Ahmed Yusuf and Ali Hassan said they cannot afford to pay the extra fees after paying the initial dues.
They claimed the extra charges were meant for students who performed poorly in their continuous assessment test and protested that it was done without approval of the school’s Board Of Management (BOM) and that of the Ministry of Education.
Efforts to contact the school Principal Mr. Hussein Bulle were futile as his phone went unanswered neither did he respond to text messages sent to him.
Ijara Sub County Education Officer Mr. Ibrahim Odowa said it was illegal to pay extra monies and asked parents not to remit the Sh 3000, promising to take up the issue with the school administration.
“It is illegal to collect extra money from parents at this time when they are paying fees,” he said, while summoning the affected students to meet at the school Monday.
About 63 students were sent away for failure to pay the additional Sh 3000 for first term without telling them in advance when school closed for December holidays 2018.
Students who were sent away are loitering in the streets of Masalani claiming they have no fare to go back home. They appealed to political leaders and education officers to intervene.
By Mohammed Dahir
