Court issues injunction against Saint Andrew’s school over unfair trade practices
The High Court in Blantyre has granted nine parents and guardians an ex-parte injunction stopping the prestigious St. Andrew’s International Primary School from offering unsolicited online learning services at overpriced rates.
The parents and guardians include Nuru Bakali, Dr. Lilian Moyo, Gift Gondwe, Ismail Aniz, Chipiliro Mzanda, Liza Msusa, Shoaib Jiwa, Ruth Masangano and Luis Gadama.
The concerned parents and guardians lodged a complaint at the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) against board of directors of St. Andrews International Primary School, accusing the instution of forcing them to pay for online learning services against their will.
They also alleged that the school had been penalizing them through de-registration of their wards and re-registration only upon assessment.
In its order made on June 3, 2020, which Nyasa Times has assessed, the High Court in Blantyre is restraining the defendant (the school) by itself, its servants or agents from engaging in the following acts of unfair trading until either conclusion of the complaint lodged before the Competition and Fair Trading Commission, or further order of the same Court.
The court further stops the school from mandatorily claiming payment from parents and guardians who do not want to solicit the defendant’s online learning service.
The order also restrains the board of directors of the school from forcing the parents and guardians, who do not want to solicit the defendant’s online learning services, to solicit the said service by penalizing them through de-registration of their wards and re-registration only upon assessment.
“The defendant is further restrained from charging claimants for the online learning service at a fee which is equivalent to onsite learning fees when the former service is very much an inferior service to the latter and also disconnecting from the online learning service any ward of the claimants who would opt to solicit online service unless and until a reasonable fee is agreed upon before the CFTC,” reads the order in part.
However, the court states that that should it find that its order has caused loss to the defendant, and decides that the defendant should be compensated for that loss, the claimants will comply with any order the court may make.
This is great. They should not steal from people under the guise of providing quality education. It is just sad reading from the comments section that there are many Malawians with the slave-ish mentality, trying to blame the parents for refusing to be exploited. Ndithu kumasekelera willful exploitation. Nkumadabwa why Malawi is not progressing.
Zamatama basi, atumizeni ana ku Chikamveka F.P. school Sain’t Andrews certificate siisanduka degree ayi.
Nothing is expensive at Saints. The alternative for these parents is Manase high school at kwaManase just around the corner.
If you simply can’t afford the school fees pull your children out of the school. All these people za amwenye.. Ismail Aniz osa sekesa chonde.. you pay for mistresses but your child school fee? Kikiki
Saint Andrews is a good school. Please stop spoiling it with this nonsense.
Tima School tambili tagundika kubera makolo. I’ve always wondered, what about the fee that was paid for a semester/term that never completed? are they suppose to retain it?
I have kids who are attending online lesson from a secondary school in Mzuzu. They have asked us to pay a monthly online fees for kids to have access to the lessons and submit their lesson. Those who have not paid are not able to access the lessons. I don’t no the case at Saints, but I don’t know why parents cannot allow their wards to attend online lessons when there many institutions attend on line lessons. This is not a permanent situation. Soon pupils will return to their normal lessons.
Unfair trade is the issue here. They were imposing things without considering the times we are in.
Consider what times?? Its just a desease season.not a season to bite and eat from everyones money.
Worst to threaten pupils and their parents to de-register
How much is the Mzuzu monthly fee bwana Moyo, coz at Saints we are talking about K2.8m or so per term for online lessons for primary school.
St Andrews students and parents are a special breed. They can afford. If these can’t it’s their problem, they should not force the school to register their kids for a song. I find it unfair practice trade practice for a customer to determine price of a service. It does not work like that in real world.