GEMS schools to close Sh3bn campus in Karen

The high-end Dubai-based GEMS Cambridge Education is set to close down its Karen campus and move all learners to the newly-acquired Hillcrest International Schools.

The campus located on Magadi Road was purpose-built by a developer for GEMS Education at a cost of Sh3 billion.

It was the first learning institution that the Dubai-based group opened in Kenya about six years ago, before it acquired the Hillcrest Schools at a reported cost of Sh1.5 billion.

The change is likely to be effected next year, people familiar with the planned closure said.

Parents in both institutions have been informed. GEMS has a student population of about 200, who will join the 1,000 learners at Hillcrest.

Annual rent

The decision will save GEMS Education an annual rent of about Sh200 million it has been paying for the Karen property.

Hillcrest, which was recently acquired by GEMS, owns 36.7 acres of land in Karen, on which its learning facilities are built.

GEMS Education this month declared redundant at least 10 senior managers at its Nairobi office in a shake-up that left employees at the regional headquarters uncertain about their jobs.

The institution had in 2015 designated Kenya as its headquarters for Africa operations with plans to set up additional schools in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, which it had at the time described as its priority markets.

GEMS Cambridge International School, which opened in 2012, was poised to compete with other international schools for a slice of Kenya’s elite education cake. The school was charging an annual fee of up to Sh2.3 million.

The closure of the school will be a major setback for the landlord, Goodison Sixty One Limited, which has been embroiled in a legal battle with architectural firm Symbion over payment for the construction of the building that has hosted GEMS Cambridge for the past six years.

The history of the dispute dates back to November 2011 when Goodison engaged Symbion for the provision of architectural and related professional services in the development of school buildings and sporting facilities at Gems Cambridge International School, Nairobi.

Kenyan conditions

Goodison instructed Symbion to design a school as close as possible to the Wellington International School, one of the four GEMS schools in Dubai, but with modifications to suit the conditions in Kenya. Symbion visited GEMS schools in Dubai to appreciate Goodison’s requirements.

A dispute then arose, and upon receiving Symbion’s statement of outstanding fees, Goodison objected, saying Symbion had not performed its part of the contract.

After a protracted dispute, however, an arbitrator on February 25, 2016 directed Goodison to pay the contractor Sh131.3 million.

An application by Goodison to disqualify or to remove the arbitrator from the arbitral proceedings was rejected by the court and a fresh application to review the earlier court’s decision was unsuccessful and dismissed by the High Court on May 2, last year.

GEM’s Nairobi office oversees its private schools in Kenya and Uganda, with the multinational having earlier planned to venture into other countries on the continent.

The redundancies could be a signal that the multinational has temporarily shelved the expansion plan or could be looking to bring in new managers to drive the growth.