*KUPPET Secretary Wants All School Uniforms To Be Banned As From Next Term, Below Are Main Reasons Behind The Decision*

A debate has broken out over how costly to facilitate children through school is and is a burden on the shoulders of many parents.

Omboko Milemba, the national president of the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), said on Tuesday, March 29, that school uniforms should be removed because of their expensive nature.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Omboko argued that uniforms have also been listed in many surveys as a reason for learners to drop out of school.

According to the KUPPET boss, the uniform is hindering basic education in Kenya, which is about access, and that’s why the government has made it free.

However, regulations by teachers and other stakeholders on uniforms and other material requirements hinder progress in achieving free education.

“I can tell you strongly here that the uniform will eventually be removed and should be removed. There is no relation between uniform and learning. I know other stakeholders will argue that uniforms are used for identification, but a student is a student,” Omboko said.

His remarks began with calls by former Nairobi Education CEC Janet Ouko, who questioned the intentions of school principals, who asked parents to buy uniforms from Distinctive at exorbitant prices.

Ouko urged the Ministry of Education to review the uniform policy and rein in the uniform cartel and regulate the education sector.

He cited the example of schools in Nairobi, where uniforms cost as much as Ksh36,000 without adding to the cost of mattresses, sheets and blankets supplied to the schools.

“Some of these people are importing from China because it is cost-effective…Parents are in shock because all the schools in this country have approached specific companies to supply the uniforms,” she said.

Ouko also expressed concern over the role of the Management Board in increasing the fees in public schools.

She lamented that the national schools have been affected by the BOM which makes new laws without considering the situation of different families.

We cannot remove uniform but at this moment we can define what is uniform. These are opportunities to earn money… can we keep this to a minimum and remove these middlemen between parents and uniforms.

“Ask the parents to go to the source for the uniform. I can get you the fee structure and I can bet that the uniform is more expensive than the first term fee,” she said.

Do you support KUPPET Secretary’s move to abolish school uniforms? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section