Nairobi: The newly elected leadership of the Mombasa Parents Club has pledged to restore Nyali School to its former status as one of the Coast region’s leading academic institutions following years of leadership disputes and legal battles that adversely affected the school’s growth and reputation.
According to Kenya News Agency, the 84-year-old institution, located in the Nyali suburb of Mombasa, has been a key centre of learning since its establishment in 1942 during the Second World War. Over the decades, the school earned a reputation for academic excellence and produced many prominent leaders from the Coast region and beyond.
However, prolonged wrangles over the management of the Mombasa Parents Club and control of the school’s assets resulted in years of instability, damaging the institution’s image and disrupting its operations.
A new board was elected two weeks ago under the chairmanship of Fahmi Said during elections supervised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The leadership, which will serve for a two-year term, has since embarked on efforts aimed at reconciling rival factions and rebuilding confidence among parents, learners and stakeholders.
As part of the reconciliation process, the board has extended an olive branch to all members and resolved to withdraw, by consent, all court cases that have been pending over the leadership disputes.
Speaking during a media briefing at the school, Mombasa Parents Club Secretary and advocate Sammy Ruwa said the institution had remained in the public spotlight for the wrong reasons as rival groups fought for control of the club and its properties.
‘We are happy that recently the parents spoke loudly and clearly and gave us a mandate as parents to come in and stabilise the school and to bring it to the place where it was. Many of our leaders in the Coast region and even in the country have passed through Nyali School either as parents or as learners,’ said Ruwa.
He said the new leadership appreciates the confidence shown by parents and is committed to implementing reforms that will restore stability and create an environment conducive to learning and institutional growth.
‘We are grateful for the opportunity, and our promise to the parents and all the stakeholders in the education sector is that we will indeed do what parents have given us an opportunity to do, and that is to stabilise the school to ensure the necessary infrastructural and institutional structures are put in place,’ he said.
Ruwa noted that years of wrangles had slowed infrastructure development and affected the school’s competitiveness. To address this, the board has launched a facelift programme aimed at improving learning facilities and creating a more attractive environment for learners.
The board is also prioritising the restoration of the institution’s academic standing and public image.
‘We promise that within these two years we will bring the school back to the position it deserves. The reason people are so concerned about Nyali School is that it made Mombasa proud, and that is what we want to restore,’ he said.
According to Ruwa, the period of instability prompted many parents to transfer their children to other schools. Approximately 150 learners left the institution, reducing the student population to about 860.
The board is now appealing to those parents to reconsider and return their children to the school, assuring them that the institution is stable, safe and focused on academic excellence.
‘We want to invite them to come and see so that they bring back the learners to an environment that will be safe and geared towards excellence,’ he stated.
He added that the board is also considering admitting learners whose parents are not members of the Mombasa Parents Club in order to broaden access to the institution.
Nyali School Principal Aurelia Manyeti said the institution remains committed to its founding vision of providing quality and holistic education.
She noted that despite the challenges experienced in recent years, the school has continued to nurture talent and maintain strong academic programmes.
Manyeti revealed that students recently represented the school in an international debate competition in South Africa and are scheduled to participate in another competition in Canada later this year.
‘I want to assure the parents and all the stakeholders and members of the public that Nyali School is very stable, and we are ready to help learners excel and achieve their full potential,’ she said.
