Parent sues school over fee arrears

Parent sues school over fee arrears

Parent sues school over fee arrears

A decision made by some schools to forbid students who owe money from returning to class after the half term has now reached the legal system.Through a newsletter from St. Georges Girls Secondary School in Nairobi, a parent filed a lawsuit, which is currently requesting the High Court’s assistance.

The parent has listed the Attorney General, the Teachers Service Commission, the school’s board of management, the Basic Education principle Secretary, and the school’s head principle as respondents in the lawsuit.

In a February 27 circular, the school instructed parents to pay fees by March 4 at the latest. The newsletter stated that in order to reduce traffic on the reporting day, fee-related matters will not be covered.The students’ report was due on March 5. Since then, one of the parents has filed a lawsuit to overturn the ruling.

In a lawsuit filed at the High Court in Nairobi, the parent, represented by attorney  Felix Mokaya, asserts that the school has a policy of refusing to admit kids whose  tuition balances include purportedly unlawful remedial and development fees  whenever the students close or break. The Ministry of Education takes into account the growth of St Georges Girls  Secondary institution, a public institution, when submitting their budget proposal. The lawsuit stated, “The petitioner is concerned about why parents who pay taxes  that support the same school have to pay on top of development.”

He noted that his client’s child was not allowed back to school on January 10, 2024. He noted that the daughter was denied admission in January due to remedial balance despite having paid Sh40,000 as school fees.The parent claims the suit represents the interest not only of parents of St Georges but all parents across the country. He said his daughter was admitted at the school in January 2023.

He reveals that in February 2023 during orientation, parents were asked to pay Sh25,000 for completion of a dormitory. He said no input was sought from parents.

He noted that the issue of remedial classes also arose and parents were encouraged to pay for it though it was not compulsory. Parents he said were encouraged to pay Sh3,000 per term.

A WhatsApp group, he said, was created and a representative elected. Immediately the group was created, parents were asked to pay the Sh3,000.

“Some parents in the aforementioned WhatsApp group insisted on knowing whether the remedial classes had become required, asking the class representative and the teacher to respond. “Just pay and if you have any issues see the accountant,” was the class teacher’s reaction, he added.He saw that the need for remedial expenses grew after that.

The parent on January 11, 2024, in a letter to the PS Ministry of Education copied to the school management sought to know whether the charges on remedial classes were legal.

The school chief principal in response requested the issue be handled in-house. The principal requested the parent to write to the PS to put on hold any precipitated action against the school in view of resolving the issue.

“Our children have been subjected to embarrassment together with their parents who are forced to go back home on opening dates due to those unlawful levies balance. I was forced to pay Sh7,220 for remedial and misplaced textbooks. The school denied admission to my daughter until I settled the said amount,” read the suit in part. He noted that the school is yet to issue receipts for the payment despite demanding for them twice. He said he was informed that the system is down and receipts couldn’t be processed.

The parent requests that the remedial levy be declared unlawful by the court and  that the money that has already been paid be reimbursed. He stated that the development levy levied on parents ought to be ruled unlawful by  the court as well. He suggested that the board that approved the taxes need to be dissolved and fined  as well. Judge Lawrence Mugambi ordered that the matter be discussed on April 15 after  giving the parties 14 days to submit their answers.

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