- Parents have staged protests in Narok over alleged mismanagement of funds at Ole Kisiara Comprehensive School.
- The parents have accused the headteacher of mismanagement, citing poor facilities, unpaid PTA teachers, and harassment claims against the headteacher
- Parents have called on education officials to probe infrastructure, staffing, governance, and use of funds.
Parents of pupils at Ole Kisiara Comprehensive School in Mogondo, Narok County, have staged demonstrations over alleged mismanagement of school funds.
The parents, led by Emily Kirui and Joyve Sigey, accused the school administration of failing to account for millions of shillings allocated to the institution, despite several facilities remaining in poor condition.
Kirui said parents had repeatedly sought explanations from the headteacher, Joseph Tele, but claimed he had been difficult to reach.
She cited poor sanitation facilities for both learners and teachers, dilapidated classrooms and lack of electricity connectivity despite funding allocated for development projects.
“It is unacceptable that we continue to have poor toilets, classrooms and no electricity connection when millions of shillings have been allocated to this school,” Kirui said.
Kirui also questioned the decision by the school administration to purchase additional land about three kilometres away from the institution.
She said the move was unnecessary because land had already been donated to the school by the late MP Johanna Ngeno.
“We do not understand why the school would spend money buying land three kilometres away when there is land that was donated to the school by the late Johanna Ngeno,” she said.
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Sigey raised concerns over the alleged non-payment of teachers employed through the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), despite claims that funds had been set aside for their salaries.
“Why have the teachers hired under the PTA not been paid when there are funds meant for their payment?” Sigey posed.
She also accused the headteacher of allegedly harassing parents, teachers and other employees at the institution and called for urgent intervention by the area education director.
The parents further questioned the composition of the school’s board of management, claiming that most of its members are women and teachers.
They demanded the election of a new board, arguing that the current members were not elected and are not known to the wider school community.
The parents also claimed the school has operated without a deputy headteacher, alleging that more than four deputies had left the institution due to what they described as harassment by the headteacher.
They further accused school officials of illegally sharing school funds among themselves to support their personal businesses.
The parents vowed not to allow the school to reopen unless Tele is transferred from the institution.
“We cannot allow the school to reopen under the same leadership. We want the headteacher transferred and the concerns raised by parents addressed,” the parents said.
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However, Tele denied the allegations levelled against him, dismissing the demonstrations as politically instigated.
He did not provide further details on the specific allegations raised by the parents.
The parents are now calling on education authorities to investigate the management of the institution and address their concerns over infrastructure, staffing, governance and the use of school funds.
By Kimutai Langat
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