This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
Published on June 22, 2020, Brookhouse International School in Nairobi has found itself in a financial crisis after parents refused to pay fees for online classes.
According to Brookhouse lawyer Twalib Mbarak, the school has lost over Sh300 million due to the court orders issued by High Court Judge Weldon Korir, which barred the management from demanding full school fees for the virtual classes.
Twalib claimed that the institution was still incurring operational costs and paying salaries, which had not changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He argued that the school had no choice but to offer virtual learning to ensure continuity of education.
However, parents told the court that the school never consulted them before opting to offer online classes. They argued that Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha had issued a circular closing all schools due to Covid-19.
The parents, represented by lawyers Issa Mansur and Omwanza Ombati, raised concerns about their children being exposed to online abuse and the risk of online content not being properly regulated by the government.
They also argued that virtual learning was not part of the contract that parents signed for the school to offer. Omwanza stated, “Concerns by parents about virtual learning were not addressed.”
It emerged that a day for a Brookhouse student starts at 8am with online lessons via free software zoom, followed by ‘online parades’ each morning. Parents are expected to buy each child a computer as the lessons run simultaneously, and supervise their children during online assignments.
