Please help me STOP UNFAIR business practices at Flipper by signing this petition to raise awareness and bring the focus to “quality education in schools,” first, not making money. Education is not and should never be a commodity.

I am a concerned parent of 3 students at Flipper International School, who is deeply troubled at the current trends at the organization. Flipper was recently joined by IEG (International Education Group) from Morocco as majority shareholders. IEG is backed by investments from Saham Group & Tana Africa Capital. Following a recent change in management, the school proposed increases in the various fees required to run the school (registration, tuition, book fees & capital levy).

A major change proposed was to dollarize the school fees. The Ethiopian Ministry of Education recently sent a clarification circular forbidding all so-called international schools from dollarizing their fees.

Flipper is blatantly disregarding the law of the land by still requiring parents to pay their fees with a structure that is pegged in USD. They gave the option to pay in Birr as required by law, but at a much higher increase. 

These increases would be considered unfair for any service: 103% increase in 2 years; 40% increase just in the current academic year alone. The proposal for the coming academic year is even worse: 63% increase on average on Tuition; 100% increase on Material fees; and a whopping 134% increase on average on registration fees.

All this, after numerous promises from the new majority shareholders to raise the quality of education and take Flipper to the next level. Our initial understanding was that the investment was eyeing long term returns, which the CEO of IEG mentioned as being within a 10 year period. 

I was happy when IEG joined and said they will bring the best international education system to Flipper, coupled with locally rooted values. But to my utter disappointment, we are starting this long term relationship with broken promises and troubling trends.  

As a parent, I want Flipper to be the best school for my kids and the next generation of Ethiopians. The focus of schools should always be on the quality of education, not profits. 

Help me and my fellow parents be the voice of reason by signing this petition.

Thank You Dear Parents!