Kenya elite schools invest billions in expansion plans

International School of Kenya students cheer their basketball team during a regional tournament in Nairobi in 2012. FILE

By Herbling David,


IN SUMMARY
The exclusive schools have recently been acquiring rivals, setting up new campuses and expanding learning facilities such as classrooms, dormitories and sports fields to create room for growth in admission numbers.
The schools that are known to charge more than Sh1.7 million ($20,000) per year already boast expansive compounds, modern libraries and laboratories, quality meals and a wide range of sporting facilities.

Kenya’s elite schools have embarked on massive expansion plans, hoping to tap into the growing preference by the middle class for internationally accredited education.

The exclusive schools have recently been acquiring rivals, setting up new campuses and expanding learning facilities such as classrooms, dormitories and sports fields to create room for growth in admission numbers.

The schools that are known to charge more than Sh1.7 million ($20,000) per year already boast expansive compounds, modern libraries and laboratories, quality meals and a wide range of sporting facilities.

Kenyan parents have increasingly warmed up to international education aiming to give their children the best tickets to upward mobility and set them up for admissions to top universities abroad.

There is also a belief that elite schools offer holistic learning that emphasises values such as leadership and self-confidence, preparing the learners for bigger roles later in life.

The International School of Kenya (ISK) has, for instance, embarked on a Sh2.5 billion ($30 million) project to expand its elementary school facilities to cater to the needs of 1,200 students up from the current 884.

The project is meant to build four classrooms for every level in the elementary school through Grade 5 and three classrooms for the kindergarten.

The school also plans to build multi-purpose rooms for group activities, indoor physical educational, dedicated language laboratories and staffrooms.

“This is informed by the rise in the number of foreign companies entering East Africa with Nairobi as the hub, increasing the number of expatriates with school-going children,” said Lynn Wells, director of advancement at ISK.

“It is also driven by increasing quest by Kenyans to give their children international education in a school with a diverse student population.”

ISK’s long-term plans include construction of a new middle school, additional gymnasiums, swimming pool and a running track. 

“There is a growing waiting list in many grades,” said Mr Wells in reference to the many leaners who are waiting to be admitted.

ISK, which is owned by the American Embassy and the Canadian High Commission, offers the American curriculum and International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

Another big player in the international schools arena GEMS Cambridge International School set shop in Nairobi in September 2012, positioning itself for a slice of Kenya’s elite education cake.

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