Press Releases

NAIROBI, 25TH OCTOBER 2019. The World Bank’s independent recourse and accountability mechanism, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), published a report yesterday raising “substantial concerns” regarding Bridge International Academies (BIA) and announcing their intention to conduct a compliance investigation into the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) investment in the company. This decision comes after a comprehensive appraisal of a complaint filed…

NAIROBI, 3rd April 2019. Yesterday the World Bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) published its assessment report as part of its ongoing investigation into the operations of Bridge International Academies (Bridge Academies) in Kenya. On 16 April 2018, 10 Kenyan citizens, including current and former parents and teachers at Bridge, with support from the East African…

After a thorough screening process, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), a complaint mechanism of the IFC, found the complaint against the World Bank’s investment in Bridge International Academies (Bridge), eligible. The complaint, which was submitted by 9 Kenyan citizens on 16th April 2018, raised concerns over the negative social impact of Bridge in Kenya, where…

(Nairobi, 16th April 2018) In a complaint submitted to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman earlier today, the East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights) and 8 current and former Bridge parents and teachers raised concerns over the operations of Bridge International Academies in Kenya. The complainants provided details concerning the negative social impact of the company,…

Kampala, Monrovia, Nairobi, 1st March 2018. In an open letter published today, 88 civil society organisations have urged investors to cease their support for the multi-national for-profit chain of private schools Bridge International Academies (BIA), which runs over 500 schools in Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, and India. These organisations are calling investors’ attention…

The High Court of Kenya at Nairobi dismissed on Tuesday the application for an interim injunction against the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and its Secretary General Mr Wilson Sossion which had temporarily barred them from publicly discussing the operations of the largest chain of private schools in Kenya, Bridge International…

(Nairobi, 13th November 2017) In a report made available last week, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) demanded that the Government of Kenya effectively enforce regulations in regard to the controversial American chain of private schools, Bridge International Academies as a measure to guarantee quality education in…

(April 10th 2020) The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has set a new precedent in upholding the right to education in an official commitment to freeze investments in private for-profit pre-primary, primary, and secondary (also called “K-12”) schools. The signatory organisations applaud this landmark decision by the IFC, which responds…