Parents of students at Litein High School in Kericho County have threatened to moved to court seeking orders to stop the school administration from demanding KSh 69 million in damages following a series of student strikes.
Through their lawyers Danstan Omari, Samson Nyaberi, and Shadrack Wambui, the parents, under the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), accuse the school management of exploiting incidents of unrest to impose what they term as unjustified financial burdens on them.
Speaking at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi, Mr. Omari said the PTA wants to file an urgent application before the High Court seeking to restrain the schoolโs board from demanding payment of the colossal sum before a full audit and accountability report is produced.
โOur clients are parents who have sacrificed to educate their children. It is unconscionable that each time there is a strike, the school uses it as an opportunity to levy fresh payments,โ said Omari.
โWe are calling for transparency and accountability. You cannot keep turning student unrest into a profit-making venture.โ
The parents claim the school has witnessed three strikes in quick succession, each followed by new levies imposed on families.
They argue that instead of addressing the root causes of the unrest, the management has resorted to what they described as a โstrike-for-profitโ scheme.
They claims that he school board allegedly hired a private quantity surveyor from Nakuru, who conducted an independent assessment of property damage and quoted KSh 99 million, later reduced to KSh 69 million, a figure the PTA insists is exaggerated and unverified.
The school, which has about 1,500 students, reportedly directed each parent to pay KSh 49,000 before their children could be readmitted.
The PTA, however, says such a demand is punitive and discriminatory, especially since the school has only recalled Form One and Form Two students, leaving Form Four candidates stranded just days before their national examinations.
โThe management has completely ignored the plight of Form Four students who are set to sit for their KCSE exams next week. This selective reopening shows bad faith and disregard for learnersโ welfare,โ lawyer Nyaberi told journalists.
The parents want the court to issue temporary orders restraining the school from imposing or collecting any strike-related levies, pending the determination of the case.
They also seek an independent audit of the alleged damages and accountability on how previous funds collected after past strikes were utilized.
โThis pattern cannot continue. It is the duty of the school management to maintain discipline and prevent unrest, not to turn chaos into cash,โ said Wambui.
