Dispute over hiring of Nyali School principal lands in court
A dispute between some parents and the management board of a private school in Mombasa over the recruitment of a principal has landed in court.
Nine parents at Nyali School, owned by the Mombasa Parents Club, a members-only club, have sued the management board, seeking to permanently restrain it from hiring a principal.
They want the court to bar the board from spending money over Sh500,000 unless this is approved by a special general meeting of parents in accordance with the club’s constitution.
The parents say the substantive principal’s term ended on May 31 and the board appointed an interim acting principal.
“Under the club’s constitution, the respondents as members of the management board are not to use their position for personal gain, 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,” the parents say in court documents.
The parents say an advertisement of the vacancy was published on June 8 and the final day for receiving applications was declared to be June 15.
“The extremely short period of inviting applications was not genuinely informed by the need of urgency because the position of a principal has and continues to have an experienced person appointed by the respondents in an acting capacity,” the plaintiffs argue.
They also claim that the desired qualifications cited in the advert were designed to attract a particular candidate and the period for candidates to submit applications through ‘confusing email’ addresses was part of an orchestrated plan to limit the number of applicants to the advantage of a particular candidate.
The plaintiffs claim the board had ignored calls for the recruitment of the principal to be put on hold until new board members are 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.
If the orders they are seeking 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 complicated.
They also say that they are looking for an arbitrator to help resolve the dispute. BY DAILY NATION
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