Parents demand removal of primary school headteacher

Mukuka Primary School parents in Malalani, Kitui East have decided to keep their children at home until the headteacher is removed.

They held a day-long protest against headmaster Musili Mutava on Monday, accusing him of mismanaging the institution.

They barricaded the entrance of the school with thorny tree branches to prevent teachers and pupils from resuming classes next week after a week-long half-term break.

“We will not release our children to school after the mid-term break.  We are tired of the mismanagement and want the headmaster removed. Only then will our children come back to school,” parent Stephen Kithuka said.

Kithuka said Makuka had been run down and pupils performed dismally in KCPE under yet the school is one of the oldest in the county.

“Most structures here are dilapidated. The construction of classrooms has stalled yet the school regularly receives maintenance funds from the government,”  he said.

The parents accused Mutava of demanding illegal levies such as preps and tuition fees and sending pupils home if the parents failed to pay.

But Mutava dismissed the allegations as baseless.

“They are acting on their own imaginations and falsehoods. I request the parents to wait for the decision of the Ministry of Education officials who will be visiting soon to resolve any misunderstanding,” he said.