Parents of students at Kamuoni Boys High School staged protests, calling for the immediate transfer of the school principal and opposing a compulsory KSh20,000 restoration fee charged to all students.
The school administration and Board of Management imposed the levy to cater for repair costs following a destructive eight-night student riot that swept through the institution on May 12, leaving behind damage estimated at KSh23 million.
The unrest resulted in a dormitory being set ablaze, furniture destroyed by fire, office windows smashed, and the school kitchen together with several other key structures extensively damaged.
Following the destruction, the school was shut down indefinitely, with students sent home as the administration assessed the extent of the damage and planned for reopening.
However, parents were not convinced by the figures, questioning the transparency of the levy and arguing that total collections from all students could not amount to the KSh23 million quoted by the school.
“We are being forced to pay KSh20,000 each, yet the school has not clearly explained how the money will be used,” stated one parent.
“Even if all parents contribute the total amount, we do not know how the school arrived at those figures. We feel the process lacks transparency, and parents deserve a full breakdown before being asked to shoulder such a huge burden,” another parent stated.
The KSh20,000 fee was not the only concern, as parents also arrived with a long list of grievances they say the school has ignored for an extended period.
They cited poor student living conditions, questionable and recurring extra charges imposed on learners, a worrying decline in academic performance, and deteriorating student discipline.
Many parents argued that the student strikes were a foreseeable result of long-standing frustrations that school management had consistently failed to recognise or address.
They are now calling for the principal’s dismissal, maintaining that the school requires new leadership to restore order, rebuild trust with parents, and reverse what they described as years of deterioration.
Meanwhile, leaders in Makueni County called for calm and dialogue, noting that more than five schools have been closed due to strikes since the reopening of schools for the second term.
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“I want to request the parents and also teachers, let’s think together. Let’s come together and see how we can move forward without these stoppages,” said a member of the school’s board.
By Frank Mugwe
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