Kenya's top private school are raking in $96million dollars a year and there is no stopping them

When anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful tool to which one can change the world”, he forgot to mention one crucial factor as well.

‘Education is also the most expensive tool in which one can change the world’ is true at least in Kenya.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) recently released a list which shows that Kenya’s top 25 elite schools have a combined annual turnover of at least $96 million (Sh 10 billion) indicating the ‘money is not a problem’ attitude Kenyan parents have when it comes to their children's education.

St Andrews Turi, one of Kenya’s most expensive schools, for instance, charges $20,201 for a student in Year Eight on full board.

Kenya’s rich households and expatriates, including ambassadors and executives, prefer private schools offering international curriculum and emphases more on practical learning than exams with the hope that it will give their kids heads start in today’s highly competitive world.

Also read: KENYANS AMONG THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN AFRICA

Dr. Ernest Mureithi, the regional director and CEO of GEMS Education in Africa another elite school which charges $13,475 a year per child told Business Insider that international schools are not that expensive but rather simply caters for parents with money who want the best for their children.

"it is not that we are an expensive school, all we do is position ourselves to provide each group of parents with a choice of where they can take their kids to, but we make sure the quality of education runs across all the schools regardless of what you are paying in fees” he said.

Also read: MEET THE 3 TYPES OF SUPER-RICH PEOPLE FOUND IN KENYA

Increased demand for private education in Kenya has also seen new players enter the market, including Nova Pioneer and Sabis International School that is partly owned by Centum Investment Company Plc hoping to strike it rich on student’s dreams and Parents deep pockets.

Existing and new private school brands are expected to continue benefiting from growth of the local middle class and expatriates working for multinationals, foreign governments, and global institutions like the UN.