Secondary school principals are selling Form One slots for as high as Sh250,000 per student to admit them to their institutions, the Sunday Nation has learnt.
For national schools in Nairobi, parents have revealed that the school heads are demanding as much as Sh250,000 to be given a slot while others asked for Sh100,000.
National schools outside Nairobi are reported to be asking for between Sh50,000 and Sh70,000 to get a slot for their children while those in extra-county schools are paying as much as Sh50,000. Some county school principals charge between Sh10,000 and Sh30,000 while their sub-county counterparts demand a minimum of Sh5,000.
National Parents Association, chairman Nicholas Maiyo yesterday told the Sunday Nation that the lobby had received many complaints about principals and teachers who have conned parents telling them they will secure Form One slots for them.
“A parent was conned out of Sh7,000 by a teacher in a school in Kwale but when she took the child she found the slot is not there,” revealed Mr Maiyo.
A frustrated parent who posted on a WhatsApp group lamented being conned Sh40,000 by a prestigious Nairobi boarding school to secure a Form One slot for her daughter.
Sh40,000
“I can’t believe I was conned out of Sh40,000. My girl is still at home,” posted the parent.
When contacted by the Sunday Nation, the parent said she was still traumatised and did not want to talk about the incident.
In most cases, the school heads while working with people unknown to parents have transferred students from their schools to others to create space for learners whose parents have paid to secure the space.
The chaotic situation has caused several students to report to their placed schools only to find that they had been transferred to a different institution without their knowledge.
Despite the Ministry of Education issuing strict guidelines to curb the malpractice, some parents were by end of Friday scouting for alternative schools for their children. A majority were willing to buy the slots.
Some parents have applied to transfers their children to other schools despite having reported to the institutions they were placed in and have been admitted.
Errant principals
When reached for comment, Basic Education PS Julius Jwan condemned the incidents terming them as illegal and called on the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to investigate and discipline the errant principals.
“I wish parents report to us, to police, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission or TSC so that such unscrupulous principals can be subjected to disciplinary processes,” said Dr Jwan.
The parents’ lobby said they are compiling evidence to present to the TSC for disciplinary action against the teachers.
“We have already received several cases. We shall report them to TSC once our list of evidence is complete,” said Mr Maiyo.
The practice of school heads selling Form One slots is not new as it had become a tradition in the 1990s. The principals used to sell Form One slots of needy students who could not afford school fees for the national and provincial schools to able parents.
However, the introduction of the National Education Management Information System (Nemis) reduced the cases as a request has to be made online and allow approval from the ministry.
The Nemis sought to tame such cases and streamline the placement of Form One students.
Dr Jwan termed the ongoing sale of Form One slots as a criminal and asked parents to avoid such practices as some could be falling to con artists.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday extended the reporting of Form One to ensure all students report as the government continues to implement the 100 percent policy. BY DAILY NATION
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