The prestige of Starehe Boys’ Centre has been tarnished by a damning audit revealing a massive illegal fees racket. Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has flagged the institution for extorting up to Sh300,000 from parents—more than four times the government-approved limit.

In a country where the cost of education is already a knee-on-the-neck for families, this revelation is a slap in the face. Starehe, a school founded on the principles of charity and helping the needy, is now accused of running a "pay-to-play" scheme that locks out the very students it was meant to serve. The Auditor General's report details how the school ignored the Ministry of Education’s fee cap of Sh67,244 for national schools, charging between Sh140,000 and Sh300,000 depending on a parent’s "ability to pay."

The Uniform Cartel

The rot goes deeper than just tuition fees. The audit has exposed a questionable procurement deal where the school spent a staggering Sh8.38 million on uniforms, shoes, and bedding from a single supplier. This violates the Basic Education Act, which explicitly forbids schools from acting as monopoly retailers for uniforms. By forcing parents to buy from a specific source, the school administration has effectively created a cartel that exploits captive parents.

"This trend of non-compliance is worrying," Gathungu noted in her report. The audit also flagged inconsistencies in the charitable support records, with a discrepancy of over Sh2.7 million found in the school's books. It paints a picture of financial opacity in one of Kenya’s most celebrated institutions.

• The Wide Net: Starehe is not alone; Loreto Kiambu Girls charged Sh1.2 million per student for "projects," while Shimo la Tewa and Thika High are also cited for irregularities.
• Data Cooking: Thika High School was found to have a variance of 316 students between its NEMIS records and the county director’s list, raising fears of "ghost students" attracting capitation funds.
• Ministry Impotence: despite circulars and warnings, elite principals continue to operate as laws unto themselves, knowing the Ministry rarely bites.

A Betrayal of Trust

For decades, Starehe Boys’ Centre was the gold standard of Kenyan education—a place where a poor boy from the slums could share a desk with a minister’s son. This audit suggests that the ethos of the school is being eroded by commercial greed. Charging Sh300,000 in a public institution is not just an irregularity; it is an act of class warfare.

As parents absorb the shock of these figures, the pressure turns to Education Cabinet Secretary to act. Will heads roll, or will this report gather dust like the ones before it? For the struggling parent selling land to pay these illegal fees, the answer cannot come soon enough.