The Kipkeino School Privatization Controversy: A Clash Between Community and Ownership

Uasin Gishu County, lies Kipkeino Primary School, a prestigious institution known for its top-class facilities and long-standing association with the family of legendary Kenyan athlete Kipchoge Keino. While the school has long operated as a public entity under the Ministry of Education, recent plans to privatize it have sparked a contentious debate, pitting the Keino family against the parents and local community. This growing dispute raises critical questions about ownership, public investment, and the future of the school.

Genesis of the Controversy

Kipkeino Primary School was established in 1987, and according to the Keino family, the school was originally intended to operate as part of a charitable initiative, supporting the Kipkeino Children’s Home. The land on which the school sits, they claim, was bought by the family, and over the years, resources were pooled from family members, friends, and donors to develop the institution.

Yet, a key turning point in the school’s evolution came in 2001, when it was formally registered as a public school under the Ministry of Education with the registration number G/PE/0011/2001. This transition allowed the school to benefit from public funding, including the deployment of teachers by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the provision of textbooks under the government’s Free Primary Education (FPE) initiative.

However, in recent years, the Keino family has sought to revert the school to private ownership. According to Andrew Kiptoo, a family member and board member at the school, the family desires full control over the school’s operations and the ability to hire teachers independently of the TSC. “The school has only been receiving funding from the Lewa Children’s Home Trust and the Keino family for further school development and not the government,” Kiptoo asserts.

The Ministry of Education recently received an official application to privatize the school, and a public advertisement was placed seeking feedback on the proposed change. This sparked immediate backlash from parents and local residents, who view the move as an attempt to “grab” an institution they have helped build over the years.

Parents and Community Fight Back

The plan to privatize Kipkeino Primary School has been met with strong opposition from parents and the local community, who argue that the school’s transformation into a private entity would undermine the public investment made in its development. For years, parents have paid substantial fees, ranging from KSh 100,000 to KSh 160,000 annually, with the belief that they were contributing to a public school that served the community.

“We have been paying fees knowing that it’s a public school and that we had a role to help develop its infrastructure,” said one disgruntled parent. “It’s not acceptable that someone wakes up to privatize the school ignoring all that we have invested to build it.”

The parents claim that the government, particularly the Ministry of Education and county officials, has been unresponsive to their concerns. Letters written to these bodies have gone unanswered, leading parents to suspect that there is a broader scheme to facilitate the privatization of the school. They have accused senior education officials of colluding with the Keino family to change the school’s ownership without considering the public interest.

The issue of land ownership has also come under scrutiny. Some parents claim that former President Daniel arap Moi donated 200 acres of land for the construction of the school in the 1980s. However, the Keino family disputes this, asserting that the school sits on 30 acres of privately owned land under the title of Phyllis Keino, and now managed by the Lewa Children’s Home Trust. “The land is 30 acres and not 200 as claimed by some parents,” the family insists.

A recent meeting organized by the school’s management to inform parents about the potential privatization ended in chaos, as most of the parents walked out in protest. The rising tension reflects the depth of emotion tied to the school, which many parents view as a public institution that has been built through their financial contributions and collective efforts over the years.

The Keino Family’s Perspective

From the perspective of the Keino family, the controversy is rooted in a misunderstanding of the school’s history and ownership. They argue that Kipkeino Primary School was never intended to be a fully public institution. Instead, it was part of a charitable mission to educate vulnerable children at the Kipkeino Children’s Home, as well as students from the surrounding community.

“The vision was to educate children within the community while delivering quality education for both the vulnerable children at the children’s home and the community at large,” says Andrew Kiptoo.

He acknowledges that the school received government assistance in the form of TSC teachers, but emphasizes that the institution has been funded primarily through private donations and family contributions. The family also contends that the school was registered as a public school in 2001 to facilitate the deployment of TSC teachers, but that this was never intended to alter its fundamental ownership or status as a charitable entity.

According to Kiptoo, the decision to privatize the school is driven by a desire to give the family full control over its management and operations. “We decided to go private to allow the family to fully manage the affairs of the school without depending on TSC teachers but instead employ our own teachers,” he explains.

The family’s stance has done little to quell the anger of parents, many of whom feel betrayed by what they perceive as an attempt to strip the community of a public resource. For these parents, the notion that a school they have helped develop over decades could be transformed into a private institution is unacceptable.

Legal and Policy Considerations

The debate surrounding Kipkeino Primary School’s privatization is not just an emotional one—it also raises important legal and policy questions. According to Uasin Gishu County Education Director John Thiringi, the process of privatizing the school began as far back as 2014. He points out that privatization is allowed under Kenyan law, provided the correct procedures are followed.

Still, the situation highlights the complexities of managing schools that operate in a hybrid space between public and private ownership. On the one hand, Kipkeino Primary School has received government support in the form of TSC teachers and textbooks, which are typically reserved for public institutions. On the other hand, the Keino family claims that the school’s land and infrastructure have been privately funded, which gives them the right to reclaim full control.

In recent years, the Kenyan education sector has seen a growing trend towards the privatization of schools, particularly in regions where public schools are underfunded and private institutions offer higher-quality facilities and teaching standards. However, the move towards privatization often sparks resistance from communities that feel they are being excluded from decision-making processes or deprived of public assets they have supported for years.

The Way Forward

As the debate over the future of Kipkeino Primary School continues, both sides will need to navigate a complex web of legal, historical, and emotional factors. For the Keino family, the privatization of the school is a logical step that will allow them to run it in line with their original vision. For parents and the local community, however, it feels like the loss of a cherished institution that has been sustained through public investment and collective effort.

At the heart of the dispute is a broader question about the role of education in Kenyan society: Should schools that benefit from public funding and community contributions remain public, even if they were initially founded as private or charitable ventures? Or should families and organizations that have invested in their development have the right to reclaim full control and convert them into private institutions?

The Ministry of Education has given stakeholders 14 days to submit their input on the matter. It remains to be seen whether a resolution can be reached that satisfies both the Keino family’s desire for autonomy and the community’s determination to protect what they see as a public asset. For now, the future of Kipkeino Primary School hangs in the balance, a symbol of the ongoing struggle over the privatization of education in Kenya.