Auditor General has revealed significant issues of corruption and mismanagement, highlighting how Principal Herman Ndungu is exploiting parents

There is increasing pressure on the TSC to promptly transfer Herman Ndungu from Larmudiac High School, following a report from the Auditor General that has uncovered his mismanagement and the misappropriation of public funds.

This is not the first instance where parents, the local community, and stakeholders have urged for the principal's transfer due to the mismanagement of school resources.

St. Joseph Larmudiac High School, once a symbol of balanced co-education, is now facing a crisis and has become a mere shadow of its former self.

Parents, students, and the local community are now insisting that if the TSC does not transfer the principal by the end of the third term, they will not permit him to reopen the school in January.

He is operating the school as if it were a private entity, where his decisions are final and akin to law, and those who express differing opinions are coerced, threatened, and intimidated.

Since Ndungu's appointment in the middle of last year, the school has experienced an alarming five strikes. The first strike, triggered by alleged food rationing, was followed by additional protests, some of which turned destructive, resulting in damages amounting to Sh 4.5 million.

Students have been on strike since last year, and the administration has failed to address their concerns. It appears that the school leadership is facing significant challenges, which are adversely affecting parents both mentally and financially.

They are demanding full payment of school fees upon returning to school, only to go on a rampage a week later. Last year, students did not take the end-of-year exams due to the strikes, and currently, they are at home after vandalizing school property last night.

It is imperative to escalate this matter to the authorities to protect the interests of the parents.

According to the Auditor General, the statement of receipts and payments indicates that the Boarding and School fund payments total Kshs.39,607,917, as detailed in Note 9 of the financial statements.

This balance includes cash withdrawals of Kshs.11,107,725, which were utilized for the procurement of goods, works, and services that surpassed the Kshs.50,000 and Kshs.100,000 thresholds.

These acquisitions should have employed alternative suitable procurement methods, as specified in the threshold matrix of the Second Schedule of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Regulations, 2020.

Additionally, there was a lack of supporting documentation, such as receipts, goods received notes, or an updated petty cashbook. Moreover, the School lacks a formal cash handling policy to direct the procedures for cash withdrawals, safekeeping, and the utilization of cash funds.

Under these circumstances, Management has violated the law. The statement of receipts and payments also shows that Boarding and School fund payments amounting to Kshs.39,607,917 are disclosed in Note 9 of the financial statements.

An examination of selected documents revealed that payments totaling Kshs.13,601,018 were made to suppliers for the provision of goods and services who were not listed among the registered suppliers, in violation of Section 57 (1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015. Consequently, Management was in breach of the law.

Furthermore, the statement of receipts and payments reflects an infrastructure grant of Kshs.1,809,600 from the Ministry of Education, as noted in Note 3 of the financial statements. This amount was deposited into the operations bank account and was intended for transfer to the infrastructure bank account for the maintenance and enhancement of the School's facilities.

However, only Kshs.644,000 was actually transferred to the infrastructure account, resulting in a remaining balance of Kshs.1,165,600 as of 30 June 2024. This situation was in violation of The Ministry of Education's Circular Ref. No: MOE.HQS/3/1 3/3 dated 16 June 2021, which mandated that infrastructure grants, along with maintenance and improvement funds, should be deposited into the School infrastructure account within fifteen (15) days of their receipt in the operations account.

Consequently, Management was in violation of the law. Included in this balance are receivables totaling Kshs.4,271,582 that have remained outstanding for over two years.

Nevertheless, there was no established policy regarding the impairment of long-outstanding fee arrears, which raises concerns about the accurate representation of the accounts receivables balance.

As a result, the accuracy and complete recoverability of the outstanding receivables balance of Kshs.6,007,039 could not be verified.