Tension has continued to rise at Nyali Primary School in Mombasa as parents and owners of the learning institution demand for the immediate removal of the principal.
The school which is owned by Mombasa Parents Club attracts pupils mostly from well-to-do families in the port city and charges fees of up to Sh55,000 per term. It has a population of over 1000 pupils.
Parents claim the school has been mismanaged and wants the principal John Kombo to exit. They want the purchase of two school buses investigated, claiming over Sh600,000 was diverted during the acquisition.
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They accuse the principal of playing down the bus scandal and other corruption allegations in the school.
Some parents claim they had been asked for kickbacks when seeking for admission of their children yet the school belongs to them.
“Inflation of purchases, misuse of power, bribery, nepotism, taking 20pc from support staff salaries among other disturbing things are happening in the school yet we are prevented from holding an AGM by the board which is compromised,” a parent laments
The parents are also unhappy that their resolutions in previous AGMs are ignored by the principal whom they claim runs the school like a personal property.
“Even the buses scandal would not have taken place if our resolution to outsource transport was adhered to. Outsourcing was meant to avoid maintenance expenses. But due to selfish reasons, the board and the principal have ignored the parents’ input,” Rashid Salim pointed out.
The parents are also alarmed that the principal is allegedly using Nyali Primary School resources and reputation to benefit the school’s competitor Paramount Academy which is managed by the principal’s wife.
The parents want a defilement case at the school involving a teacher revisited and investigated to assure the safety of pupils.
An AGM slated for September 28 2019 reportedly aborted after the principal manipulated and armtwisted the board and the local education office.
The principal, it is claimed, has been going against a government directive and allowing tuition in the school during school holidays.
