End of School Uniform Cartels As Principals Form body to Regulate Pricing
Parents and the Ministry of Education received assurances from the association’s chairman Indimuli Kahi that the issue will be settled once and for all.
Parents who are already stretched thin are paying millions of dollars in excessive uniform fees at schools all around the country.
“We shall self-regulate as principals so that we continue to provide the quality of uniforms that we want our children to wear and make sure they are affordable,” said Mr. Kahi, referring to the team made up of Kessha county and national officials.
The association denied allegations that its members have used the sale of uniforms to convert educational institutions into money-making engines, arguing that public schools are likewise subject to the public procurement procedure. Parents call on the government to take action against principals who charge students illegal fees.
“I know there is a general feeling that we are not doing very well when it comes to uniforms, and there is a proposal that this be taken away from schools because principals are using this as a profit-making venture, ” stated Mr. Kahi. However, we provide parents a way to quickly, securely, and affordably purchase these outfits. The problem, according to the Machakos Boys High School administration, is that we combined the costs of boarding and uniforms and listed the total as the cost of uniforms.
Separating boarding items from uniforms “so that what is uniform is uniform and this is the cost, what is a boarding item including mattress and bed sheets is a boarding item and is put separately to make it very clear” was one of the points on which he claimed the school heads had agreed.
According to Mr. Kahi, organisations place advertisements for the provision of goods and invite bids from providers. He clarified that when school administrators tell parents to purchase uniforms from particular stores, it is not because they have established a deal with the supplier.
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It’s because the person who qualified after going through the entire process got the tender. We have requested the supplier to make it easier for our parents to come and pick up uniforms at schools, which is why we ask them to do so when we ask them to pick up stuff at school, the man said.
Following complaints from parents, education principal secretary Belio Kipsang urged the Kessha leadership to control uniform prices across its members.
Parents have accused principals, particularly those from rural and extra-county schools, of turning their schools into profit-making enterprises by charging exorbitant costs for supplies like uniforms. They claimed that in spite of the government forbidding principals from selling uniforms, they were still at the mercy of the school officials.
The principals who were also imposing additional levies and other hidden fees in violation of the Education Ministry’s standards were targeted by the parents, who urged the government to intervene.
Education stakeholders pleaded with the State to take severe action against the indiscreet principals under the leadership of National Parents Association chairperson Silas Obuhatsa.
Moses Kuria, the trade cabinet’s secretary, stated on January 24 that parents are free to purchase school supplies from their favourite vendors. However, boarding school administrators kept pushing the products or told parents to buy them from specific vendors.
End of School Uniform Cartels As Principals Form body to Regulate Pricing
