Gov’t urges parents to report principals dictating shops for uniform purchases

The government has urged parents to report school principals who force them to buy uniforms from specific shops, saying such practices violate existing regulations.

Speaking during Citizen TV's Elimu Mashinani live panel on Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba acknowledged complaints from parents over the rising cost of school requirements, noting that the problem lies not with uniforms themselves but with how some school heads enforce their purchase.

The CS said that while uniforms remain a mandatory requirement, parents must be given the freedom to purchase them from outlets of their choice.

“The challenge is that some principals are flouting the regulations put down…that you must allow the parents to source, for example, uniforms from the free market. Don’t direct them to specific shops or people where they are supposed to buy those uniforms because that is not a government policy. What we cannot be able to stop is the fact that you need to have uniforms,” Ogamba said.

Ogamba admitted that although the ministry is aware of allegations that parents are being compelled to buy uniforms from designated shops, enforcement has been hampered by a lack of evidence.

“We are aware that the parents say that they are forced to buy uniforms from specific shops, but we don’t have documented evidence so that we can take action against school principals,” he said.

The Education CS stressed that compliance with regulations requires collective responsibility from all stakeholders.

He called on parents to formally report such cases to education officers in the field to enable action to be taken.

“Where you find this being done, as a parent, please report that to our field officers so that we can take action,” Ogamba said.

“All of us must take a stand because we know regulations have been put out there, but we do not have hard evidence that we can act on."

Parents in the panel had raised concerns of extortion by some school heads who directed them to source the uniforms and other school items in specific outlets, which they said were more expensive than the ordinary markets.