Parents In Court Over Hiring Of School Principal
A legal battle has erupted between some parents and the management board of a private school in Mombasa over the hiring of a principal.
Nine parents at Nyali School, which is owned by the Mombasa Parents Club, a members-only club, have filed a lawsuit against the management board, requesting that it refrain from hiring a principal indefinitely.
They want the court to prevent the board from spending more than Sh500,000 unless a special general meeting of parents is held in accordance with the club’s constitution.
The substantive principal’s term ended on May 31, according to the parents, and the board appointed an interim acting principal.
In court documents, the parents say that as members of the management board, they are not to use their position for personal gain, the benefit of friends, or any other person to the prejudice of the club and are expected to act with integrity for the benefit of the members.
According to the parents, an advertisement for the position was published on June 8, and the deadline for applications was set for June 15.
Plaintiffs claim the extremely short period of inviting applications was not genuinely informed by the need for urgency because the position of a principal has and continues to have an experienced person appointed in an acting capacity by the respondents.
They also claim that the desired qualifications listed in the advertisement were designed to attract a specific candidate and that the period for candidates to submit applications via ‘confusing email’ addresses was part of an orchestrated plan to limit the number of applicants to the benefit of a specific candidate.
The plaintiffs claim that the board ignored calls to halt the principal’s recruitment until new board members were appointed.
“In the face of various concerns raised, it is only prudent for the recruitment of the principal of the school to be conducted by the incoming committee for purposes of conducting a credible recruitment exercise,” the parents argue.
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If the orders they seek are not granted, they argue, the board is likely to complete the recruitment by interviewing and hiring a principal, and reversing the appointment would be difficult.
They also state that they are looking for an arbitrator to assist them in resolving the dispute.
Parents In Court Over Hiring Of School Principal
