A parent in a public secondary school in Taita-Taveta County is appealing for help to raise Sh9, 000 tuition money demanded by the school administration after the school refused to release his daughter’s KCSE results.
Mr. Derrick Mwanyika was told he would not get his daughter’s KCSE result slip from Mwakitawa Secondary School in Voi sub-county until he pays Sh9, 000 for remedial teaching and extra holiday tuition the girl enjoyed while in the school.
Speaking in Voi on Monday, the distraught parent claimed he had a balance of only thirty-five shillings which he was willing to clear.
He added that his daughter had cleared Form Four in 2018 and well-wishers had pledged to pay for her Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) fee in Nairobi where she wanted to apply.
Mr. Mwanyika said the school insisted it would withhold the results to compel him to pay the money which he termed as illegal because government had banned all holiday tuition.
“The school has completely refused to hand over the slip to my daughter. I have personally gone there but I was also chased away,” he said.
Mr. Mwanyika’s daughter scored a C- (minus) and was set to apply for a nursing course at KMTC in Nairobi.
He said his greatest worry was the well-wisher changing his mind due to delays and the daughter missing a slot altogether.
Tuition, popularly known as remedial teaching, was abolished by Ministry of Education as it was being misused by unscrupulous school heads to extort money from parents.
Speaking to KNA, Deputy School Principal Loice Mbogho said the student could not be cleared as she had not filled in the clearance forms.
“She must take the clearance form and be cleared by teachers,” said the deputy principal before hanging up the phone.
However, Mr. Mwanyika said the school had declined to issue a clearance form until the nine thousand shillings was paid. He added that he was currently jobless and could not afford to pay the money.
Mr. Mwanyika said he was dismissed from his job on medical grounds and had not been paid his dues.
He expressed his willingness to work for the school without pay for as long as it took to have the school release his daughter’s certificates.
“I don’t know what else to do. I have exhausted all options,” said the distraught father. He added that he was going to find any kind of job and pay off the school to avoid getting humiliated every time he went seeking help from the institution.
When contacted, County Director of Education Mr. Simon Wanjohi said he was not aware of the issue but would find out what was going on and further verify if the school had withheld the student’s certificate.
“I am not aware of this matter but let me find out what is happening,” he said.
By Wagema Mwangi
Parent’s agony as school withholds daughter’s certificate
