Parents in Bridge School in Mtopanga ward Kisauni sub county of Mombasa have protested about poor school management.
Bridge International Academies is a Kenyan company which provides for-profit education to children and calls itself a “social enterprise”.
The parents protest against school management for allegedly sacking teachers without recourse to parents and local leadership since it’s the local communities and leaders that helped in the donation of the school land.
The protesting parents have expressed concern about the poor state of the school with management dismissing teachers without any valid reason despite the fact that they had served the school with dedication.
James Kimani, a parent at the Bridge School said the school’s senior managers were running the school with high-handedness without regard to the welfare of the students.
He said they are out to protest the dismissal of several teachers who had been working at the institution for long.
He said they are voicing their concern with the hope that the outgoing Education Secretary Prof. George Magoha and the new Education CS nominee Ezekiel Machogu to look into their concerns.
Kimani said many teachers have been dismissed in unclear circumstances such that at the moment only two tutors teach at class seven and eight leading to heavy workload.
Juma Hassan, another parent, said it’s wrong for the school management to dismiss teachers at a time when class eight candidates are preparing for national examinations.
Felix Mwatzoya, a parent with a class eight pupil, says the state of affairs in the school was worrying and that some of them have decided to keep their children at home because of poor management.
He said many teachers were demoralized; a situation he said would definitely affect the candidates’ performance in national examinations.
He said the school management should handle issues with teachers in a fair, transparent manner and in the interests of the learners.
Mary Kata, a parent of a class eight student, says the teachers in the school are working under a tough environment due to the hostility of the school top management.