Parents and members of a school in Mombasa are accusing the principal of mismanaging and looting the institution.
Members of Mombasa Parents Club, the proprietors of the elite Nyali Primary School are angry that the principal, John Kombo, was allegedly working in cahoots with some forces to perpetuate acts of corruption at the institution.
“He played down the issue of Nyali school bus scandal, obtaining kickbacks from parents seeking admission of their children, inflation of purchases, misuse of power, bribery, nepotism, and taking 20pc from support staff salaries among many other unpleasant things that have dominated the school under his reign,” said a distressed member who wants the principal kicked out.
In the last AGM, parents suggested to have the transport section outsourced to avoid maintenance expenses of running the transport section. However, due to alleged selfish reasons, the board and the principal have ignored the parents’ suggestion.
Macharia
Insiders at the school claim the procuring process is in full control of Kombo who inflates all the purchases and demands kickbacks.
And that almost all companies that supply to the school either belong to him or some of his cronies at the board. The school allegedly loses approximately Sh20 million a year due irregular payments, inflation of purchases and many unaccounted transactions, it is being stated.
There are also allegations of conflict of interest with accusations that the principal was using Nyali primary school resources and good reputation to uplift his own private school known as Paramount Education Centre situated within the same vicinity and run by his wife.
The parents are also unhappy that the principal was able to cover-up a defilement case at the school involving a teacher. The principal allegedly insulated the teacher from prosecution and assisted him get employed in Nairobi while the mother of the defiled pupil was compromised by being appointed a school board member.
Since the bus purchase scandal that hit the school last year in which over Sh600,000 was looted, angry parents have been demanding for a special AGM to deal with the many issues affecting the school.
However, the principal it is claimed, has frustrated all avenues of holding the AGM for fear that parents would throw him out.
Even when Mombasa parents won the battle to have the AGM on September 28 2019, the principal allegedly resorted to a propaganda campaign among a section of gullible parents by telling them to refuse the meeting as it would make their kids disqualified for not adhering to government directives.
The same principal went against the government’s directive and ordered the same Class 8 to come for August 2019 holiday tuition. It took the intervention of some parents to call off the August holiday tuition.
“We are asking the principal; ‘didn’t he know that the kids could be disqualified in their final exams for having the holiday tuition? Still in the third term, some activities have been scheduled in the school. Isn’t this against the government directives?’
