upepo
Elder Lister
I have read this article with great concern—not because Starehe is beyond accountability, but because the framing risks misleading the public and harming one of Kenya’s most impactful education institutions.
First, it is important to clarify what the Office of the Auditor-General does: an auditor raises observations and seeks management feedback. If feedback is not provided, that is also recorded. But an audit must always demonstrate basic due diligence and context. In this case, one key question should have been asked early:
“Is Starehe Boys Centre and School a fully Government-funded public institution?”
Because if that question had been asked, the Auditor-General would have learned that Starehe is not a conventional public national school. It is a unique, philanthropic institution funded largely by well-wishers and supported by an endowment culture built over decades.
Yes—Government pays some teachers (about 60) and gives support as goodwill. But Starehe pays the rest of the staff and carries a massive operational responsibility that goes far beyond what the public imagines.
So we must ask: How does Government then present it as a typical national school charging “illegal fees,” while failing to acknowledge its unique structure? That is not only a blunder—it risks discouraging donors and well-wishers who keep the Starehe dream alive.
Now to the much-publicized figure: KSh 300,000.
Let’s address it honestly.
Starehe has historically educated boys—and now girls—from disadvantaged backgrounds free of charge. That is its mission. But times have changed. Sponsors are fewer. Global philanthropic funding that once supported institutions like Starehe (including historic support ecosystems like Save the Children and other donor channels) is no longer as available or predictable.
So what happens when sponsorship reduces but the number of needy children remains high?
A solution was adopted and refined: Category C / fee-paying students.
This is not exploitation. It is not elitism. It is a strategic cross-subsidy model.
Some parents can afford to pay more and are willing to do so—not because they are being forced, but because they understand the value of Starehe and they want their children to be part of that environment. If a parent is willing and able to pay 5 times the standard fee and their child qualifies, why not?
That money becomes part of the engine that funds:
• uniform, meals, medical care, books
• teachers and support staff salaries
• dormitory operations
• pocket money for needy students
• transport support
• and above all: the education of students who cannot pay
This is actually how many global institutions survive: those who can pay help those who cannot.
Most importantly, Category C is not just about money—it is about integration.
It is also important to state clearly—because many people may not know this—that to this day, the majority of Starehe students (around 70%) are still supported through sponsorship and the school’s welfare model, meaning they are either fully free or heavily subsidised. And this philosophy is not something that was “invented recently” to justify high fees. From the beginning, under Dr. Geoffrey Griffin, Starehe was deliberately designed with a structured support system—where those who can contribute help sustain those who cannot. That is the Starehe model, and it is precisely what has kept the dream alive for generations.
It deliberately mixes students from different backgrounds: the have and the have-nots, the well-connected and the unknown, the privileged and the vulnerable. It creates a unique social fabric—and that is what builds national unity.
I personally went through the Starehe system for 13 years, free of charge.
We were supported in ways that many Kenyans cannot imagine:
• school fees paid
• travel support during half term and holidays
• return bus fare
• pocket money
• even accommodation after finishing school as I transitioned into the world
Starehe did not just educate us. It raised us. It built our confidence and leadership. It instilled dignity and equality.
That is why today, I can comfortably sit with the common man and sit with kings and treat them as equals in my universe—because we grew up together, ate together, slept in the same dorms, studied under the same discipline, and carried the same values.
If you want to understand Starehe’s fee structure, you don’t start with headlines or political populism.
You go to the Board.
You understand the endowment fund model.
You engage the Old Boys network, donors and well-wishers.
You learn how the school keeps the Starehe promise alive in a changing world.
Of course Starehe must remain accountable. All institutions must. But accountability should be intelligent, contextual, and fair.
Let us not destroy a national asset simply because we refuse to understand its model.
Starehe is not just a school.
It is a ladder out of poverty.
It is a leadership factory.
It is one of Kenya’s greatest education experiments—and it has worked.
I am what I am today - because Geoffrey Griffin created Starehe ..
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