Parents in Kiambu County have thanked the government’s move of banning selling school uniforms within their premises.
This follows the move by Trade, Investment and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria querying the need to have compulsory school uniforms issued by the schools or even specifying a particular shop where parents should purchase uniforms for their children.
Gilbert Muthua, a parent, told KNA that they were normally forced to buy uniforms in schools at even higher prices.
According to the CS, it is better to have more people from the bottom of the pyramid selling uniforms than on only one or three identified people selling the uniforms.
Muthua said that it has been difficult for the parents to not only get uniforms from schools but they were also paying for bedding which are normally given at exorbitant prices.
“As a parent you have no choice otherwise your son or daughter will not be accepted in school without that uniform that has to be purchased within the school. It has been like a cartel in which the administration of schools partner with one person for the job and am sure there is usually something fishy and a teacher or even a principal benefiting from this,” he said.
Another parent, Marion Njiru, said in her opinion, it was easier for them to get uniforms from schools since before, they would visit the uniform distributors’ shops and after purchasing, schools would later tell them it was not the right one or the color was not the same.
“I am not disputing what the CS has done because I believe it will create jobs for many small traders who had closed down their uniform shops, but personally the running around going to get uniform from different shops was hectic for parents,” she said.
Meanwhile, Maryanne Wanja, a resident and a tailor in Kiambu town who has been sewing only uniforms in her shop could not hide her excitement about the CS remarks.
“Now my business will go back to where it used to be 10 years ago, I used to get a lot of customers from Kiambu schools since my uniforms are from the surrounding schools, but when schools started engaging in the business of selling uniforms some of us stopped selling and were relying on very few customers. I truly believe this is the bottom up government,” she reiterated.
Wanja told KNA with the ban, she is sure her business will pick up and she will even expand and increase in number the uniforms because of the demand.
“As schools were opening this year, my business had not picked up as well as I expected. I have been making few sales but the CS’s ban has come at the right moment when even the form ones are about to report, therefore I expect to sell more,” she added.
Despite the excitement and hope by most parents and tailors, the CS during his speech mentioned that he will be working together with his Education Counterpart CS Ezekiel Machogu to address the issue but also warned school officials or teachers not to sell any uniforms within their schools.