College principal arrested over exam fee scandal
Maria Consolata Teachers Training College Principal Emmanuel Ekisa has been arrested for allegedly defrauding students about Sh250,000.
The college, under the Catholic Diocese of Isiolo, has been on the spotlight in the last few days following the halting of KNEC certificate exams for over 30 ECDE students.
The Principal is set to be questioned over failure to process payments for 33 students locking them out of the exams that started Tuesday this week.
Isiolo County Criminal Investigations Officer Betty Chepng’eno said Mr Ekisa was arrested in Ngaremara on Thursday morning and will be interrogated over the allegations.
“He is being brought to the Police Station for questioning. We will in the course of the day give details whether he will be arraigned or not,” Ms Chepng’eno told the Nation.
She said three students had already recorded statements with police over the incident and investigations were ongoing.
The students were shocked to learn on Monday during rehearsals that their names were not in the KNEC system and therefore could not sit the exams.
The Nation has established that the students paid the fees between March and September this year.
The students hired a bus to Isiolo town on Tuesday and visited several offices including the Sub-County education office but help was not forthcoming.
“We were shocked to learn that we would not sit the exams after invigilators failed to show up on rehearsal day. When we reached out to the principal, he said he processed the payment late,” Ali Duba, a student at the institution, told the Nation in Isiolo town.
One of the senior education officials in the county, the students claimed, had warned them against going to the press over the issue promising to assist iron the issue but did not.
The students had petitioned Education CS George Magoha to assist them sit for the exams on emergency grounds saying it was not their fault but the Principal’s.
Education officials engaged in blame games when reached for a comment with County Director of Education Hussein Koriyow saying the issue was under the county government while County Education Chief Officer Aileen Kajuju said colleges were under the national government.
“We only deal with ECDE but the college offers other courses. It is under the national government,” Ms Kajuju told the Nation.
According to a senior education official, the students will be compelled to wait until June next year to sit for the exams. BY DAILY NATION
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