End of an era as Nairobi’s Eastend School closes doors after three decades
Eastend Junior Academy has announced it will permanently close its doors in December 2023 after operating for three decades.
In a circular on October 25, 2023, that caught parents unaware, the institution’s proprietors attributed the decision to a number of factors, including the tough economic times that have made it difficult to run businesses.
“As everyone knows, the business environment in the country has not been too good. the tough business environment has put a lot of pressure on the directors,” the memo reads in part.
The memo noted that since the school’s inception, its directors, Mr and Mrs Munyambu, have devoted their time and resources to making the school what it is today.
“Mr and Mrs Munyambu are both over 70 years old and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support that you have given to the above school and to assure you that the office will remain open to give you any assistance that you might want. Because of their age, they have decided to retire and close the school from next year,” it added.
The school which is located in Tena Estate, Nairobi, was founded in 1993 and has been running for 30 years.
Its first cohort sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in the year 2000.
Parents who have children studying at the school will now be forced to look for other schools after the long festive holiday which begins next week.
In 2021, Kenya’s Private School Association said that nearly 400 private schools were forced to close because of the pandemic, affecting 56,000 students.
Schools closed on March 16, 2020, and were partially reopened on October 19, 2020, and fully reopened on January 4, 2021.
At the height of the pandemic, the government announced a stimulus package to help private schools repay loans.
However, the stimulus funds did not materialize, leading some schools to turn to commercial banks with stringent lending requirements.
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