Two days after our previous article, more details continue to crop up on the miserable state of affairs at Parklands Arya Girls’ High School.
In the latest development of the unravelling story, yet another source has come forward to acknowledge extensive extortion and fraud at the learning institution.
The headmistress is said to openly ask for bribes for favours.
Through a message forwarded to cnyakundi.com on Tuesday, 21 June, it was revealed to us that one parent of Somali origin was recently asked to buy a “ngamia” worth Sh30k so that her daughter could gain admission to Form 1.
Even children with special needs can be admitted to the school so long as the required “token” is given.
Concerns have also been raised over gross unprofessionalism by teachers who are often underpaid.
Sometime in 2021, drama ensued at the school after a former parent stormed into the school boiling with rage that one tutor named “Victor” had led her daughter into failing her KCSE after forcing the class to study a “leaked” test that never was.
Students were left traumatized when they found completely different questions on the exam.
Most teachers are demoralized and always desperate to make some quick cash by whichever means necessary.
Support staff work on weekends with no overtime.
They say that the principal has pocketed all local education officers, so airing their grievances is a total waste of time.
She is also protected by a big-shot Cabinet Secretary (CS) whom our source failed to mention.
“Hi, Nyakundi,
Thank you for highlighting the extortion and fraud that have gone on for years at this school.
Following your exposé, more parents and workers have reached out.
One parent of Somali origin says he was told to buy a “ngamia” which is a bribe of Sh30k to get a form in one place.
He also says he is aware of a parent who secured a place for her special kid by paying.
The girl has learning difficulties and cannot learn in a normal school.
The principal didn’t care so long as they got the money.
A former parent complained that the said teacher Victor led to her daughter failing in her history paper in 2021 KCSE by giving them an exam he claimed was to come, but what was in the tests was completely different.
Workers at the school, including teachers, are demoralized because of tribal bias and the toxicity of the principal.
Support staff work on weekends with no overtime.
The parents are now requesting you to help reach out to the Ministry of Education headquarters for auditing of financial dealings in the school.
The principal claims to be protected by a Senior CS and she has bought all the local education officers so that they can turn a blind eye to her terror and theft,” the source writes.
Parents across the country continue to plead for the government’s intervention over rampant cases of outright extortion by school administrators.
Over the past year, this blog has covered many such cases where public institutions have been brought to light for crafting creative ways to levy extra fees without justification.
In case you missed out, here are some of them below.
- Massive extortion racket happening at Donholm Primary School
- Extortion of Parents at Bondeni Primary School Kayole
- Alert: Rockfield’s Junior School Overcharging Parents
- Parents Expose Money Minting Racket At young Girls’ High School
- Concerned Parent Unearths Rot At Nyahera Girls Secondary School
- St Peter’s Nzambani Secondary School Kitui Milking Parents Through Exorbitant Motivation Fees
- Parents Protest Rising Tuition Fees With Poor Results At Muhoho Boys High School
When this Parklands Arya Girls’ High School series began , a worried guardian had expressed uneasiness with an apparent money-making scheme by the principal.
Despite being a public school, she keeps demanding outrageous amounts of money to fund various ghost construction projects that are never completed.
To make matters worse, she tenders all building works to companies associated with herself.
This inadequacy of facilities has left the school overcrowded and learners left to struggle in an unconducive environment.
With insufficient facilities school is now overcrowded, and recently, all students in Form 2 were asked to pay Sh10k each for the construction of a dormitory.
This was despite the area MP Tim Wanyonyi allocating over Sh10m CDF to cater for the project.
On Monday, June 20, another parent confirmed that apart from greed that knows no bounds, the headmistress is also vulgar, arrogant, and full of pettiness.
She also loves to humiliate people by shouting at them.
Parents Expose Extortion Scheme At Parklands Arya Girls High School
The administration has also devised another money-making plot, where they ask fresh entrants joining Form 1 to pay Sh500 for a plate, spoon, and cup.
To ensure maximum profits, they completely refuse to accept utensils brought from “outside”.
As expected, they do not include all these amounts in any official school circular to avoid the legal implications of their unlawful venture.
For instance, last week they demanded the girls to pay Sh3,000 for purported remedial teaching, which was scrapped by the Kenyan government.
