- Parents have accused MP Joash Nyamoko of failing to honour a pledge to clear school fees at Nyamwamchani and Ntana Secondary Schools.
- Ntana Secondary’s debt has risen to over Sh800,000 after parents relied on the unfulfilled promise and stopped paying fees.
- Students have been sent home over fee balances as the third term begins, prompting parents to appeal to MoE and the MP for urgent intervention.
Parents and Board of Management members of Nyamwamchani and Ntana Secondary Schools in Nyamira North Constituency have accused area MP Joash Nyamoko of making false promises to pay school fees for learners in a bid to encourage retention amid dwindling enrolment.
According to parents who spoke to Education News on Tuesday, the legislator allegedly pledged early this year at Nyamwamchani Secondary School, and again early this month at Ntana Secondary School when he attended their prayer day ahead of third-term national examinations. In both instances, parents say, Nyamoko promised that his office, through the NG-CDF kitty, would clear fee balances for all students in the two day secondary schools to help stabilise their declining populations.
Nyamwamchani Secondary School, located in Ekerenyo Ward, and Ntana Secondary, in Magwagwa Ward, have both been struggling with low enrolment, each with fewer than 150 learners against a capacity of over 300, a situation attributed to high dropout rates driven by poverty and transfers to better-established neighbouring schools.
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Parents claimed that after the MP’s promise, many who had withdrawn their children returned them to school, while others stopped paying fees altogether, only for the term to end without any money being disbursed. As a result, students were sent home over fee balances last week when schools reopened for third term.
“We were told not to worry about fees because Mheshimiwa had said he would pay for all children in this school to save it from collapsing. Now our children are at home, and the MP does not pick our calls,” said a parent at Nyamwamchani whose Form Two daughter was sent home.
A BoM member at Ntana Secondary said the school’s debt had risen to over Sh800,000 after parents stopped paying, relying on the pledge, adding that the unfulfilled promise had caused conflict between teachers and parents.
An independent observation by Education News noted several students walking along the road from Ntana Secondary, reportedly sent home by the principal to collect outstanding fee balances. One visibly distressed learner said she had nowhere to raise the money.
“We were sent home by the principal to bring fees, but I know we don’t have. I will go to my aunt’s place to try my luck,” she said.
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Efforts to reach Hon. Nyamoko for comment were unsuccessful by press time, as his phone went unanswered. His constituency office manager in Ekerenyo, however, said the MP was aware of the challenges facing the two schools and had plans to support them through bursaries, but denied that a blanket fee payment promise had been made.
The parents are now appealing to the Ministry of Education and the MP to intervene and ensure learners return to class, as third term, an examination term, is already underway.
By Enock Okong’o
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