Igunga High School in Vihiga county is on the spot for allegedly subjecting a KCSE exam candidate to frustration over fee arrears of Sh70,000, allegations the principal has denied.
The student was sent home towards the end of second term over a disciplinary issue, which was later concluded. She was pardoned alongside others by the disciplinary committee.
The student was, however, given a condition that she must clear school fee arrears before being allowed back in school.
She is supposed to sit her Home Science exam on Wednesday, her parent said.
On Friday, when the student went to school accompanied by her mother, she was allegedly sent away and locked out with her belongings as they did not have the full amount. She had only Sh10,000.
The mother said they were rained on as they were stranded at the school gate.
On Monday, the father was allegedly denied access into the school before he went to meet the county education director David Koech and other education officials.
He alleged that school principal Rachael Amukhale insisted that they must clear the arrears before the student is allowed back in school.
“I lost my job alongside my wife and we are now struggling to pay fees. We pleaded with the principal that the student be allowed in school but she has remained adamant,” he said.
Koech visited the school on a fact-finding mission, and directed that the student be allowed in school and sit her exams.
He said exams should be given priority and advised the parent to make arrangements on how they will clear the arrears.
“We want the well-being of students in our schools and the principals have the mandate to ensure they follow the directive from the ministry,” Koech said.
On Tuesday, the parent who accompanied the student to school was told that the candidate would be staying with the school chaplain four kilometres away during the exams period.
“I am being treated in a public institution like an alien. Why is my child being subjected to this kind of frustration even if I have fee arrears?” he posed.
He said he does not understand why the student cannot be allowed to sit exams comfortably in school and later clear fee arrears before picking the KCSE exam certificate.
The parents appealed to Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang’ to intervene so the candidate can sit exams in a conducive environment.
When contacted, the principal denied the allegations. She declined to comment further on the matter, saying she met Western regional education director Jared Obiero and Koech over the matter.
“I am administering exams. You can talk to the education directors,” Amukhale said.
Obiero pledged to urgently look into the matter.