Uganda is shutting down 63 schools backed by Zuckerberg and Gates

Monday, November 7, 2016

Note: Bridge Academies issued the following statement regarding the closure of the schools. 

Uganda’s High Court has ordered the closure of more than 60 primary schools run by a U.S. education company backed by Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates and Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg.

An official in the Ugandan education ministry told the BBC that the schools, which are attended by around 12,000 students across the country, would have to close immediately following the court ruling on Friday, despite being it the middle of the school term.

Bridge International disputed the ruling and intends to appeal the decision, according to the BBC. Newsweek contacted Bridge International for a comment but has received no immediate reply.

Bridge International is a private enterprise that runs more than 400 nurseries and primary schools across Africa. The company opened its first school in a slum in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 2009, and said that it aims to educate 10 million children by 2025. It runs 63 for-profit schools and nurseries across Uganda, attended by fee-paying students.

The company has several high-profile investors. Zuckerberg announced in March 2015 that he and his wife Priscilla Chan were investing $10 million in Bridge International through Zuckerberg Education Ventures, which has since become part of his investment arm, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The enterprise is also backed by the U.K.’s Department for International Development.

Source: Business Day (link opens in a new window)

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