School queried over Sh1m stake in NSE

Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls High School Principal Jane Njuguna responds to MPs’ queries during an audit hearing at Parliament on September 15, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

The Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls High School is on the spot over an investment it made in the stock market, with questions about its viability amid other pressing areas the money could have been directed.

The National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education (PIC-G&E) questioned the school’s decision to invest about Sh1 million in the stock market, which only earns the institution about Sh5,000 in dividends annually.

The committee, led by Luanda MP Dick Maungu, regretted the investment, saying the money should have been put to better use at the school, which, like many public institutions, faces competing financial needs.

The issue was raised as the committee was examining Auditor-General reports covering the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25.

The Auditor-General questioned the existence and completeness of short-term investments amounting to Sh1.583 million as at June 30, 2021, saying the school had not provided supporting documents such as certificates of investment.

Maungu said that investing by public institutions is a matter of great concern when it is obvious that schools have issues.

“We wish to know: Sh1 million was invested at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE); let us know what exact investments those are and their performance. Is there value for money?” Maungu posed.

The school's Chief Principal, Jane Njuguna, told the committee that this year, they received Sh5,381 as dividends, even as she explained that the Sh1.583 million short-term investment comprised several accounts and Sh1 million in stock exchange shares.

“The investment amount in the balance is Sh1 million in the NSE, which generates finance income for the school. We had discussed the matter with the board of management and we wrote e-mails because the board was deciding to close it down,” Njuguna said.

But Maungu was not convinced with the explanation and said there is a need to dig the issue deeper to understand what happened.

“We know what is happening in our schools and you are on record saying that this year you got about Sh5,000 and you can imagine it is an investment of Sh1 million; what is the return on investment in that? Maungu wondered.

Embakasi West MP, Mark Mwenje, also joined in questioning the school’s decision, saying learning institutions are there to educate, not to be transformed into investment centres, yet there are other government institutions to do that.

Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls High School Principal Jane Njuguna responds to MPs’ queries during an audit hearing at Parliament on September 15, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

“Putting Sh1 million and getting a return of only Sh5,000 per year is a misuse of funds. Any investment done by an institution that is not for the benefit of those students is wrong; it should not happen. There are areas that the money should have gone to for the benefit of students,” he said.

“This is quite irregular; it is the first time we have come across such an issue. Are you telling me that the school has sorted out every single issue that now you have money to invest elsewhere?” Mwenje added.

However, Kiminini MP Maurice Kakai Bissau questioned how the school had accumulated the money and why it had stopped some of its income-generating activities.

“This was from the savings that the school was making. What savings did you make during those years?” Why did the school abandon coffee farming at a time when the crop was attracting renewed interest among farmers?” Bissau wondered.

“What agricultural project will be more than coffee today? Literally everywhere, people are shifting from other crops. That has become the black coffee — I mean the black gold,” he added.

But Njuguna defended the school, saying it had previously operated income-generating projects, including coffee farming but it no longer had enough land because of the expansion of buildings and other agricultural projects.

“The school had income-generating projects. They were growing coffee. Unfortunately, we don't have the land now to grow coffee,” she said.

Deputy Director of Audit at the Nyeri Regional Office, Patricia Esipeya, said that auditors initially could not verify the investment because the school lacked the necessary documentation.

“In our paragraph, we had indicated that they didn't have a certificate of investment to show where they had invested the amount,” Esipeya said.

She said subsequent checks established that the money had been invested at the NSE, although it had later been moved back to the school's operational account during the audit review.

“We checked the amount and established that it had been invested in the Nairobi Stock Exchange. But at the time of evaluation of the responses, the amount had been swept back to the operational account,” she said.

On his part, Sotik MP Francis Sigei wanted to know whether parents had been involved in the decision to invest the money.

“I would like to know whether this issue was tabled in the AGM for parents, because we would like to have minutes for public participation on parents agreeing to invest this amount of money in the NSE,” Sigei said.

He also asked whether the school received financial or material support from well-wishers and alumni.

When Maungu questioned whether the investment had been approved by the National Treasury, Esipeya said the Public Finance Management Act requires accounting officers to manage public funds responsibly and ensure that cash balances are kept at minimum levels while earning optimal returns or serving their intended purpose.

“The law obligates any accounting officer to responsibly manage banking arrangements and ensure that public cash balances are kept at a minimum, preventing funds from sitting idle without earning optimal returns or serving the intended fiscal purpose,” the director said.

She also told the committee that investments by public institutions require approval from the National Treasury through the relevant parent ministry.

The Chief Principal requested more time to obtain the relevant information, with Maungu directing that the matter be deferred until proper documentation is provided.

The principal is expected to return before the committee to answer the outstanding questions.