Govt moots plans to bar schools from textbooks business
Govt in bid to review policies to ban Kenyan schools from selling textbooks; a business that has benefited few individuals
Govt in bid to review policies to ban Kenyan schools from selling textbooks; a business that has benefited few individuals.
Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria on Thursday, January 26, announced plans to review regulations governing the sale of textbooks in Kenyan schools.
Kuria said in a statement on Thursday that his ministry was looking to work with the Ministry of Education to revise the regulations and prevent genuine enterprises from being shut down.
Kuria reiterated that he was aware of a pattern where schools prescribe specific bookshops and the types of books parents are expected to buy with the skewed aim of benefiting a select few people, pointing to his earlier stance on school uniforms businesses.
He noted that some policies adopted by schools cut out the involvement of small businesses in the trade of books.
The CS has since vowed to weed out cartels from the business, noting that it was in line with the Kenya Kwanza government’s mantra of supporting businesses at the bottom of the pyramid scheme through bottom-up economics.
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“We agreed with Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu (Education) that we will review our textbook policy again not because of the content but because of the structure that is encouraging cartels at the expense of businesses at the bottom of the pyramid,” he noted.
His statement came days after the govt announced its plan to liberalize the school uniform market by doing away with the rules requiring parents to purchase uniforms from designated retailers.
“Our schools have got no business selling uniforms. Parents have got absolute freedom and discretion on where to buy school uniforms. Our teachers need to focus on academia,” he stated.
Kuria spoke during the inaugural month briefing on the government’s strategies for reviving the economy.
He noted that his ministry will work with other ministries to actualize his plan in the department of trade.
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