Student Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of These Terms

By creating an account, booking a Session, enrolling in a course, or using the AI Practice Zone or Community Forum on arischool.africa ("the Platform"), you ("Student", "you") agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms"). The Platform is operated by Wangari Njoroge, trading as Arĩ AI School ("Arĩ", "we").

If you are accessing the Platform on behalf of a child under 18 through the Arĩ for Kids programme, you confirm that you are that child's parent or legal guardian, and you accept these Terms — including Section 12 (Arĩ for Kids — Parental Consent & Child Safety) — on the child's behalf.

2. Eligibility & Accounts

2.1  You must be 18 or older to create a Student account on the adult platform.

2.2  Children aged 5–17 may use Arĩ for Kids only through a Parent or Guardian account, with parental consent provided as described in Section 12.

2.3  You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify Arĩ immediately if you suspect unauthorised access.

2.4  You must provide accurate, current information when creating your account, and keep it up to date. Accounts found to contain false information may be suspended.

3. The Platform

3.1  Arĩ AI School is an online marketplace connecting Students with vetted, Certified Arĩ Coaches for live one-on-one and group AI coaching, self-paced courses, an AI Practice Zone, and a community forum.

3.2  Coaches are independent contractors who have completed Arĩ's five-stage certification and vetting process. Arĩ vets Coaches before they are listed but does not guarantee the outcome of any particular Session or course.

3.3  Arĩ does not offer free sessions. All live coaching and course content requires payment. The AI Practice Zone is provided free of charge to enrolled Students as a supplementary practice tool.

4. Bookings & Payments

4.1  All prices are set by Arĩ and shown in Kenyan Shillings (KES) at the time of booking. Payments are processed securely through Pesapal. Accepted payment methods are:

Full card and M-Pesa details are handled directly by Pesapal and are never stored by Arĩ.

4.2  Session Packs (single, 4-pack, 8-pack, or full course) do not expire and may be used for any available booking slot within the relevant Coaching Track. Packs are non-transferable between Coaching Tracks unless Arĩ agrees otherwise in writing.

4.3  You will receive a Google Meet link for each booked Session by email and WhatsApp before the scheduled time. It is your responsibility to ensure you have access to a stable internet connection and a working device for the Session.

4.4  Arĩ will give at least 14 days' notice of any change to published Session pricing, via email or WhatsApp.

5. Refund Policy

Arĩ's refund policy is set out below. All refund requests must be submitted to hello@arischool.africa, clearly stating the booking reference and reason.

Refunds, where applicable, are returned to the original payment method within 14 days of Arĩ's written confirmation. Arĩ reserves the right to request evidence (e.g. screenshots or session logs) before processing a refund or credit.

6. Cancellations & Rescheduling

6.1  You may reschedule or cancel a Session up to 48 hours before its scheduled start time through the Student Dashboard without losing that Session from your pack.

6.2  Cancellations made less than 48 hours before the scheduled start, or no-shows by the Student, will use up that Session from your pack, unless Arĩ determines the Coach was at fault.

6.3  If a Coach cancels or fails to attend a Session, you will be offered a free reschedule at your preferred time, or that Session will be restored to your pack at no cost. You will receive written confirmation of whichever option you choose.

6.4  Where Arĩ needs to substitute a different Coach for a booked Session, you will be notified in advance and offered the choice to accept the substitute or receive the Session back into your pack.

7. Off-Platform Sessions — Please Read

7.1  All Sessions must be booked, paid for, and delivered through the Platform.

7.2  Sessions arranged or paid for outside the Platform — even with a Coach you met through Arĩ — are not covered by Arĩ's dispute resolution process, refund policy, or certificate issuance. Arĩ accepts no responsibility for what occurs in such Sessions.

7.3  If a Coach asks you to pay them directly, communicate outside the Platform, or meet outside the Platform, please report this to Arĩ immediately at hello@arischool.africa or +254 705 446 336.

8. Code of Conduct

By using the Platform, you agree to:

• Treat Coaches and other Students with respect and professionalism at all times.
• Attend Sessions on time and come prepared with your questions or materials.
• Not record, screen-capture, or screenshot any Session — in whole or in part — without prior written consent from Arĩ and the Coach.
• Not redistribute, resell, or publicly share any Session recording, course material, or AI Practice Zone output without Arĩ's written permission.
• Not use the Platform, sessions, or any Arĩ content for any unlawful purpose.
• Not impersonate a Coach, another Student, or any Arĩ staff member.
• Not attempt to obtain the personal contact details of a Coach for the purpose of arranging Sessions outside the Platform.

9. Certificates

9.1  Attendance threshold. To qualify for an Arĩ certificate, you must complete at least 80% of the Sessions in your chosen Coaching Track or course. Sessions missed without rescheduling do not count toward your attendance record.

9.2  On meeting the attendance threshold and completing any required assessments, you will receive an Arĩ-branded, verifiable, LinkedIn-shareable digital certificate.

9.3  Certificates are issued only for Sessions and courses completed and verified on the Platform. Sessions taken outside the Platform do not qualify, and Arĩ cannot issue a certificate for them.

9.4  Certificates record the Coaching Track completed and the date of completion. They do not constitute a professional qualification or accreditation recognised by any regulatory body, unless Arĩ expressly states otherwise.

10. AI Practice Zone

10.1  The AI Practice Zone is powered by Groq (running Llama 3.3) and is provided free of charge to enrolled Students as a supplementary practice tool.

10.2  Output from the AI Practice Zone is generated by artificial intelligence, may contain errors or inaccuracies, and must not be relied on as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice.

10.3  Prohibited inputs. Do not enter any of the following into the AI Practice Zone:

• Full name, home address, national ID number, or financial account details of yourself or others
• Symptoms or medical history for the purpose of obtaining a diagnosis
• Requests designed to generate illegal, harmful, or abusive content
• Personal details, photos, or private information about third parties
• Content that would be prohibited under Section 11 (Community Forum)

10.4  Do not submit AI Practice Zone output as your own academic or professional work.

10.5  Arĩ may log AI Practice Zone interactions for safety, quality assurance, and platform improvement purposes. Interactions involving children are subject to additional safeguards as described in Section 12.

10.6  For Students under 18, the AI Practice Zone applies additional content filters appropriate to the Student's age group (Little Explorers 5–7, Junior Builders 8–12, Young Innovators 13–17).

11. Community Forum

11.1  Logged-in Students may post text and images to the Community Forum. You are responsible for the content you post.

11.2  Prohibited content includes: harassment or bullying of any kind; hate speech or content discriminating on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality, or disability; sexually explicit or suggestive material; content involving or endangering children; spam, advertising, or promotion of competing platforms; and impersonation of any individual or organisation.

11.3  The Arĩ for Kids community is separate from the adult forum and is moderated with additional safeguards appropriate for children.

11.4  Arĩ may remove content or suspend accounts that breach these rules, without prior notice.

12. Arĩ for Kids — Parental Consent & Child Safety

12.1  A parent or legal guardian must create the account, provide consent, and remains responsible for the child's use of the Platform at all times.

12.2  Coaches matched with children under the Arĩ for Kids programme are background-checked as part of Arĩ's certification process, and must hold a valid Certificate of Good Conduct renewed annually.

12.3  Parents may join, observe, or request a recording of any Session involving their child, subject to the privacy of the Coach and any other participants.

12.4  Parents can access a Parent Dashboard showing their child's sessions, progress, badges, XP, and any flagged concerns.

12.5  Arĩ reserves the right to pause or terminate a child's access to the Platform if a safeguarding concern arises, without prior notice, pending investigation.

12.6  Parents are responsible for ensuring the child accesses the Platform in a safe environment, on a device appropriate for their age group.

12.7  If you have any safety concern about a Session, a Coach, or any interaction involving your child, contact Arĩ immediately at hello@arischool.africa or +254 705 446 336. Arĩ will investigate promptly and may report matters to the relevant authorities under the Children Act of Kenya.

13. Data Protection & Privacy

13.1  Arĩ processes personal data — including children's data, with parental consent — in accordance with the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019 (KDPA).

13.2  Data we collect: account details; booking history; payment confirmation (card and M-Pesa details are handled entirely by Pesapal and never stored by Arĩ); session ratings; and, for Arĩ for Kids, parent and child profile and progress data.

13.3  We do not sell your personal data. We share data with Coaches only as needed to deliver booked Sessions, and with our service providers — Pesapal (payments), Resend (email), and Make.com/WhatsApp (notifications) — only as needed to operate the Platform.

13.4  Data retention. We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active, plus two years after account closure, to comply with legal and financial record-keeping requirements. Children's personal data is deleted within 30 days of a verified account closure request from the parent or guardian. You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting hello@arischool.africa; Arĩ will process the request within 30 days, subject to any legal obligations to retain certain records.

13.5  You may request access to, correction of, or a copy of your personal data by contacting hello@arischool.africa.

14. Intellectual Property

All Platform content — including the Arĩ name, the tagline "Arĩ is knowledge. And knowledge changes everything.", logos, brand colours, course frameworks, and software — is owned by Arĩ AI School and may not be copied, reproduced, or used without written permission. This does not affect Coach ownership of their own course materials, as set out in the Coach Agreement.

15. Limitation of Liability

15.1  The Platform is provided "as is". Arĩ does not guarantee that Sessions, courses, or the AI Practice Zone will be error-free, uninterrupted, or will meet your particular learning goals.

15.2  To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, Arĩ's total liability to you for any claim arising from your use of the Platform is limited to the amount you paid for the Session(s) or course(s) giving rise to the claim.

15.3  Nothing in these Terms excludes any liability that cannot be excluded under Kenyan law, including liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or in relation to the safety of children.

16. Suspension & Termination

16.1  Arĩ may suspend or terminate your account for breach of these Terms, including: abusive conduct toward a Coach or other Student; attempting to arrange Sessions outside the Platform; providing false information in your account; or non-payment.

16.2  If your account is suspended, you may appeal by contacting hello@arischool.africa within 14 days of notification, setting out your reason. Arĩ will respond within 7 days.

16.3  Unused sessions on voluntary closure. If you close your account voluntarily with unused, paid-for sessions remaining, Arĩ will offer a credit note or handle the balance in line with Kenyan consumer protection law, within 14 days of your closure request.

16.4  Unused sessions on termination for breach. If Arĩ terminates your account for breach of these Terms, no refund is issued for unused sessions.

16.5  You may close your account at any time by contacting hello@arischool.africa.

17. Changes to These Terms

Arĩ may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or WhatsApp at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Platform after that date means you accept the updated Terms. The current version of these Terms is always available at arischool.africa.

18. Governing Law & Disputes

18.1  These Terms are governed by the laws of Kenya.

18.2  Please raise any dispute with Arĩ directly at hello@arischool.africa first. Arĩ will respond within 7 days.

18.3  If the dispute cannot be resolved directly, it may be referred to mediation in Nairobi, Kenya. Failing settlement at mediation, the dispute may be referred to the Kenyan courts or to arbitration under the Arbitration Act of Kenya, at Arĩ's election.

19. Contact