KUPPET Boss Calls For Abolition of School Uniforms
KUPPET boss, Omboko Milemba has called for the abolition of school uniforms due to their expensive nature.
Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) National Chairman Omboko Milemba on Tuesday, March 29, said that school uniforms should be done away with.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Omboko argued that uniforms have also been listed in several surveys as one of the reasons why learners skip school.
KUPPET boss said uniforms are hindering basic education in Kenya, which is about access, and that is why the government has made it free.
However, teachers’ and other stakeholders’ rules on uniforms and other material necessities hinder advancements in achieving free education.
“I can strongly tell you here that uniforms will finally be removed and ought to be removed. There is no correlation between uniforms and learning. I know that other stakeholders would argue that uniforms are used for identity, but a student is a student,” Omboko stated.
The remarks comes after former Nairobi Education CEC Janet Ouko questioned the reasons of school principals who asked parents to buy uniforms from specific stores at exorbitant prices, prompting his statements.
Ouko called on the Ministry of Education to evaluate the uniform policy, rein in the uniform cartel, and regulate the educational sector.
She cited schools in Nairobi where uniforms cost up to Ksh36,000, not including the cost of mattresses, bedsheets, and blankets provided by the school.
“Some of these people are importing from China because it’s cost-effective… Parents are traumatized because all schools in this country have contacted specific companies to supply uniforms,” she stated.
Ouko also raised concern over the role Boards of Management plays in hiking fees in public schools.
She lamented that national schools have been affected by BOMs who institute new laws without considering the status of different families.
“We can’t remove uniforms but at this moment we can define what uniforms are. These are opportunities for making money… Can we keep it at a minimum and remove these intermediaries between the parent and the uniform.
“Tell parents to go source for the uniforms. I can get you the fee structures and I can bet you the uniform is more expensive than the First Term fees,” she stated.
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