Parents take over primary school at centre of dispute

PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL Visa Oshwal Primary School executive school management official Peter Muriuki addresses journalists during the first day of the school's re-opening on January 7, 2012.

What you need to know:

  • The school reopened for the first term under the ownership of the community after the government revoked a decision to turn it into a private school
  • The school has been at the centre of ownership wrangles pitting the Visa Oshwal community, the school’s management and the council
  • Lands minister James Orengo said the land on which the school is built was granted to three trustees of the Shree Visa Oshwal community of Nairobi—Bharmal Rajshi Shah, Vershi Mepa Shah and Keshvlal Fulchand Shah — in 1954

Parents took over the management of a school at the centre of a dispute between the city council and the community that started it.

The Visa Oshwal Primary School parents were in charge of the institution on Monday after they won a court case against the Nairobi City Council.

The school reopened for the first term under the ownership of the community after the government revoked a decision to turn it into a private school.

On Monday, parents met at the school and agreed on an urgent petition to the Ministry of Education to send teachers to fill positions abandoned by those who left after they regained control.

“We need more than 50 teachers. Learning has begun but we only have PTA teachers. We have asked the ministry to give us more teachers,” said Mr Peter Muriuki, an executive member of the new school management that took over.

Lands minister James Orengo said the school should remain public as per the conditions given to the community by the government 58 years ago.

The school has been at the centre of ownership wrangles pitting the Visa Oshwal community, the school’s management and the council.

The minister said the land on which the school is built was granted to three trustees of the Shree Visa Oshwal community of Nairobi—Bharmal Rajshi Shah, Vershi Mepa Shah and Keshvlal Fulchand Shah — in 1954.

The community was to own it under 12 “special conditions” including the land being used only for erection of a school, prohibition of subdivision of the piece of land and its automatic reversion to the government if it ceased being used as such. Mr Orengo said the grant was to attract an annual rent of Sh72 for 99 years.

Mr Orengo said he had directed the commissioner of lands to “invoke Special Condition Number 12 by giving a six-month notice to the registered proprietor to surrender the land as a way of ensuring that the school remains a public facility.”

However, the directive was subject to on-going court cases.