A number of public secondary schools in Kisii County could be sinking in debts, including millions of shillings owed to commercial banks.
In what could be shocking news to many parents, some school principals secretly took loans from banks without informing boards of management and failed to repay.
The Saturday Standard has established that recent massive transfers among a number of principals in national and extra-county schools in Kisii County could have opened the lid on the secrets and intrigues in a number of institutions.
Stakeholders say some headteachers refuse to take up transfers for fear of their financial mismanagement being exposed.
Some schools have for more than five years been running on bank loans and overdrafts that have accumulated and are now threatening smooth management of the institutions.
At Sameta High School, for example, new Principal Kenaz Rakiro will be forced to carry the burden and pay creditors over Sh26 million that has accumulated since 2009. Mr Rakiro is the fifth principal to manage the school in a span of nine years.
With a current student population of 700, the school has in excess of 20 casual workers paid by the management.
Rakiro says the school has a wage bill of Sh9.6 million against Sh5.1 million it receives from the Ministry of Education every year. He says he does not understand how such employment was undertaken.
He says some creditors supplied building materials, exercise books and uniforms.
Support from leaders
“We have decided not to take anything on credit until the end of this year. This year, we will spend Sh12 million on general operations and Sh3 million on tuition,” says Rakiro.
Facilities whose construction began in 2009 are not complete but the school could again spend millions of shillings in renovation.
“At the level of an extra-county school, this institution should not be where it is at the moment. We have requested for support from area leaders. We are not blaming our sponsors but the people who were responsible for daily management of the school,” says Rakiro.
Nyabururu Girls High School is to pay creditors more than Sh62 million. This has affected the operation of every department.
Some creditors have already threatened legal action but the new principal, Mrs Joyce Orioki, says she will have to complete her tasks first.
A number of students have accumulated fee balances, amounting to over Sh200,000 per student.
At Keriri Girls, new head Teresa Atieno says they first cleared the 2017 debt but the school still has to pay a bank loan of Sh9 million.
Some education stakeholders say the Education Ministry should bail out the school, but County Education Board Chairman Henry Onderi says this will set a bad precedent.
“The Government did not incur the debts but the schools did. Such heads should be held liable because they incurred the debts knowingly. Boards of management should find a way of repaying them,” says Onderi.
Many schools in the county are also paying debts for buses bought on loan.
Way out
County Director of Education William Surgut asks school boards of management to contact his office so that they can find a way out.
“We will be very keen on such matters. Some creditors think some school heads have refused to pay the debt, putting lives of some teachers at risk,” says Dr Surgut.
He says schools seeking bank loans must notify the ministry first.
