NPA DEMANDS URGENT DCI PROBE INTO ALLEGED KICKBACKS, DEFENDS SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Parents’ body says principals should not be collectively labelled corrupt, calls for evidence-based accountability over KESSHA collections
By Jeff Kizzilah Digital Editor
The National Parents Association (NPA) has called for an urgent investigation into allegations that some school principals were allegedly asked to pay between KSh400,000 and KSh1.5 million to avoid adverse audit findings.
The NPA says the allegations are serious and should be investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to establish whether the demands were made, who was behind them and whether money changed hands.
The parents’ body has also strongly defended school principals against what it describes as collective and unsubstantiated accusations of corruption.
“PRINCIPALS ARE NOT THIEVES”
The NPA says individual principals found to have misappropriated public or school funds should face the law after proper investigation and due process.
However, it argues that an entire profession should not be branded corrupt based on allegations that have not been individually established.
“Principals are not thieves. Where an individual principal is found, through proper investigation and due process, to have misappropriated public or school funds, the law must take its course.”
NPA CALLS FOR DCI TO ESTABLISH THE TRUTH
The NPA wants investigators to establish:
- Whether demands for alleged kickbacks were actually made;
- Who allegedly made the demands and under what circumstances;
- Whether money changed hands;
- Whether anyone unlawfully invoked the authority of the Auditor-General for personal benefit; and
- Whether there was a wider scheme targeting school principals.
The association says that if corruption occurred, those responsible should face the law, while anyone falsely accused should be cleared.
“The matter must be brought to rest through evidence, not speculation,” the NPA said.
KESSHA COLLECTIONS: NPA DEFENDS SCHOOL HEADS
On collections associated with the Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA), the NPA says the history and evolution of such collections must be examined before individual principals are held personally responsible.
The association argues that some current principals may have inherited institutional arrangements that existed long before their appointments.
According to the NPA, questions surrounding when the collections began, who established them, under what authority they were introduced and how they have evolved should be answered through documentary evidence and institutional records.
The association says current office holders should not automatically be made scapegoats for historical practices simply because those practices continue during their tenure.
PARENTS DEMAND TRANSPARENCY
At the same time, the NPA says it supports accountability and transparency in all collections involving parents, schools and public resources.
Parents, it says, deserve clear answers on:
- What they are paying for;
- Who has authorised the collections;
- How the money is accounted for; and
- How the funds benefit education.
“ACCOUNTABILITY MUST FOLLOW EVIDENCE”
The NPA says its defence of principals should not be interpreted as opposition to accountability.
It maintains that any principal who personally steals money, falsifies records, solicits a bribe or commits another offence should be held accountable.
However, where a principal inherited an existing administrative practice or implemented an institutional arrangement established before their appointment, the circumstances should first be examined before personal blame is assigned.
NPA’S SIX-POINT CALL
The National Parents Association is calling for:
- An urgent and independent DCI investigation into the alleged demands for kickbacks from school principals.
- Documentation and investigation into the history, authority and administration of KESSHA-related collections.
- Protection of school principals from collective and unsubstantiated accusations.
- Full accountability wherever individual wrongdoing is established by evidence.
- Greater transparency in collections involving schools, parents and education stakeholders.
- Respect for due process, with individuals not treated as guilty merely because allegations have been made against them.
The NPA says parents want accountability, principals deserve fairness and learners deserve properly managed resources.
“Let the evidence speak. Let the investigators investigate. Let those responsible answer for their actions—and let innocent school principals be protected from being labelled corrupt simply because they inherited systems that existed long before they occupied their offices.”
