The Ministry of Education has been challenged to come up with regulations on school uniforms with parents coughing millions of shillings to traders who were working in cahoots with school principals. As form ones started trooping to classes, parents were left cursing due to the inflated uniform prices imposed by respective schools. This comes as hundreds of students failed to report to school due to lack of school fees caused by the current economic crisis after the outbreak of Covid-19. According to Giglil Mp Martha Wangari, schools were working with cartels to fleece parents through the exaggerated uniform prices .She challenged the Ministry of Education to gazette school uniform regulations and save parents who had been over-charged. “The prices charged by schools for uniforms are double compared to other shops and this time this was addressed,” she said.
Speaking in Gilgil after issuing over Sh3m bursary to needy students, Wangari noted congestion was a major crisis in public schools even as cases of Covid-19 continued to rise. “The only way of addressing this pandemic is through mass vaccination as currently public schools cannot afford social distancing due to congestion,” she said. Wangari at the same time expressed her concern over the high number of girls who had dropped from school in the constituency due to early pregnancies. She identified Oljorai area as the most affected, noting that over 100 girls had dropped from school in Gilgil due to the pregnancies. “The biggest challenge we have is that some parents are colluding with Chiefs to cover up these issues and it’s time the perpetrators were arrested,” she said.
During the function, the legislator revisited the issue of printing of books noting that schools were losing millions to some cartels working from Nairobi. “When parliament resumes we shall summon the CS for Education to clarify on this issue where printers are dumping unwanted books into schools,” she said. Gilgil sub-county education officer Eric Obiri admitted that many of the students had challenges getting school fees. “I challenge the students who have benefitted from the bursary to exploit their potential by observing discipline and working hard,” he said. Area Chief John Kihenjo warned parents who failed to take their children to school that they faced arrest. “Despite the current hardship, education is free in the country and we shall not tolerate those parents who fail to take their children to schools on allegations of school fees,” he said.