{"id":431,"date":"2026-02-04T12:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=431"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:26:19","slug":"parents-push-back-npa-defends-starehe-schools-amid-auditor-general-fee-shock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=431","title":{"rendered":"Parents Push Back: NPA Defends Starehe Schools Amid Auditor-General Fee Shock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"380\" data-id=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001630177.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001630177.jpg 578w, https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001630177-300x197.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p> The National Parents Association (NPA) has come out strongly to defend Starehe Boys Centre and Starehe Girls Centre following accusations by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu over alleged violations of government-approved school fee guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defence comes after the Auditor-General\u2019s latest report flagged Starehe Boys Centre for charging fees ranging between Sh140,000 and Sh300,000, far above the Sh67,244 cap set by the Ministry of Education for the 2024 academic year. The report further indicated that Starehe Girls Centre raised its fees to nearly Sh150,000, almost three times the approved amount.However, the National Parents Association has dismissed claims of unilateral decision-making, insisting that the fee adjustments were arrived at through extensive consultations and agreements with parents, citing the unique operational model and welfare demands of the Starehe institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the NPA, parents were fully engaged in discussions around the schools\u2019 financial needs, including boarding, welfare support, infrastructure maintenance, and academic programs, and consented to the revised fees in order to sustain quality education and holistic care for learners.\u201cThe Starehe model goes beyond ordinary public schools. Parents were not sidelined, and decisions were made transparently with full disclosure,\u201d the association said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the parents\u2019 defence, the Auditor-General maintains that any variation of school fees must receive prior approval from the Ministry of Education, regardless of parental consensus \u2014 a position that has reignited debate over governance, compliance, and accountability in elite public institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy has also reopened national conversations on the commercialization of public education, the authority of Boards of Management, and whether prestigious institutions operate beyond regulatory oversight at a time when many Kenyan families are struggling with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ministry of Education is yet to issue an official statement on possible sanctions or corrective measures following the audit findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001630080.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-432\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Parents Association (NPA) has come out strongly to defend Starehe Boys Centre and Starehe Girls Centre following accusations by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu over&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":443,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}