Brookhouse Schools on Wednesday won the protracted battle against parents demanding the institution to lower its school fees for virtual learning bringing to an end the tussle that had at some time paralyzed learning at the elite school.
In his ruling issued on Wednesday Justice Weldon Korir however, ordered Brookhouse to consult parents before making any decisions that could affect learning and involve them before effecting any policy changes.
“It is therefore my finding that the petitioners have not made out a case for faulting the 1st and 2nd respondents for not seeking licencing from the 4th Respondent before offering virtual classes. Consequently, this particular ground in support of the petition fails,” Justice Korir ruled.
Justice Korir observed that closure of schools across the country was unanticipated while time pressure was also a contributing factor to Brookhouse’s tough stance since the school was expected to ensure that the pupils kept learning despite the challenges.
He noted that in light of the circumstances at the time, the consultations between the school and the parents on the adoption of the new learning method were adequate.
“It is noted that the studies offered by the School are pegged on an international system of education which had not been suspended at the time the Kenyan schools were closed. The School had a contractual obligation to prepare the children for the examinations,” he said.
The parents through the Brookhouse Parents Association (BPA) moved to court in May after the school only offered a 10% discount after schools were closed due to COVID-19.
So vicious was the tussle between the two parties that learning for Early Years to Year 4 had to be suspended putting the education of 313 pupils on hold.
Justice Korir however gave an order for the resumption of the classes for Early Years to Year 4 a few days after ordering the school to cut its fees by half by 50% pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
In May, Nadim Nsouli, the Chairman of Inspired Education Group, the company that owns Brookhouse International School attracted the ire of the school after telling the parents to pull out their children from the school if they were unhappy with the 10% discount offered to them.
In a virtual meeting with the Association’s legal team, Nsouli scoffed at the opposite number’s demands for school fees to be lowered terming the proposal unreasonable maintaining that his company stood to make losses on a $25 million investment pumped into the institution to make it “the best in Africa”.
“I have never encountered such behaviour from any other schools, or ever in my life,” Nsouli said in reference to the 64 high-end schools he manages across the world.
Nsouli also said he was baffled by the”egos of the parents” who refused to draw from the “distress fund” offered to them by the school. He accused the parents of refusing to accept help.
The tussle between the school led to the formation of two parents’ camps. One which sided with the school and wanted their children to continue learning and the other that moved to court under the BPA banner seeking to have the school lower its demands.
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