South African firm seeks protection of its Japanese tuition style

A South African company is seeking protection of the competition watchdog for its local franchises that teach special Japanese-rooted remedial courses.

Kumon Education SA Limited currently teaches Mathematics and English through the “Kumon curriculum” in 16 Kenyan centres located in Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi; all of whom it wants restricted to teach the course in their premises only.

The firm is as a result seeking a three-year exemption from Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) laws that forbid companies from selective hand-picking of their business associates in a manner that may be deemed to curtail competition.

“The agreement will be non-exclusive but the franchisees will be limited to providing and utilising the method at the centre only and not any other premises,” reads part of a gazette notice seeking the exemption.

“Similar rights for operation of other franchised centres shall not be granted within one kilometre radius from the centre,” it adds. Kumon, which was developed in Japan in 1978, is a special style of coaching which is taught in more than 50 countries globally.

Its users say it places emphasis on nurturing a child’s learning ability and distinguishes itself from normal tuition classes which it brands as being “exam-oriented”.

“Businesses which want to maintain exclusive deals with local firms have to apply to the authority for an exemption from Section 28 of the Competition Act which forbids such partnerships,” said Wang’ombe Kariuki, the CAK director-general.

“This is normally the case with international franchise holders who want to maintain the standards of their businesses in cases where, for instance, they pick sole distributors of their products or even services.”

Children aged from 3 to 18 are individually taken through daily classes by specially trained institutors for a couple months and then graded based on the speed with which they answer questions. The students are ranked according to how progressively they show an understanding of the subject.

Kumon, is being offered at Talent Academy in Lang’ata, Premier Kumon in Parklands, Coast Academy in Mombasa, Jaffery Sports Club in Lavington among several others.

Upon termination of the agreement, the exclusivity request by Kumon Education SA – itself a franchisee of Kumon Education and Research Association of Japan – also restricts its partners or instructors from acquiring “an interest in any other similar business activity” without its written consent.

Kumon Kenya’s website lists increased ability to solve problems, attention to detail, increased concentration and positive attitude as some of the benefits of the course.