Junior Secondary Schools Warned Against Forcing Parents To Purchase Desks & Uniforms
The Ministry of Education has issued a warning to schools forcing parents to purchase desks, uniforms, books, stationeries, and other requirements for their children enrolling in Junior Secondary School (JSS).
Peter Magiri, the Mombasa County Director of Education, emphasized that the government will provide sufficient funding for these needs and that primary school heads should wait for the disbursement of these funds before procuring stationeries from suppliers.
Parents have reported instances of being forced to buy these items, and Magiri stressed that this is unacceptable.
He noted that schools have no authority to sell desks or uniforms and that parents should only be required to purchase items from approved suppliers and traders.
Additionally, Magiri pointed out that it is premature for schools to ask parents to buy 26 books before the syllabus has even been finalized.
Magiri also warned parents to be vigilant and to only send their children to JSS schools that are approved by the government.
There are 97 public schools in Mombasa, with 89 approved to host JSS and the remaining 8 designated as feeder schools. Meanwhile, there are over 400 private primary schools, but only 280 registered for the inaugural KPSEA exams.
About 34,000 children who took the KPSEA exams are expected to transition to JSS, and Magiri stated that all approved schools will be registered and issued a certificate by the Ministry of Education.
The county education board will start issuing these certificates next week, and any school that does not have a registration certificate will not be allowed to operate.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Education is committed to ensuring that all children have equal access to education and that parents are not burdened with the cost of unnecessary purchases.
Parents are encouraged to be informed and to only send their children to approved JSS schools to guarantee that they receive a quality education.
Junior Secondary Schools Warned Against Forcing Parents To Purchase Desks & Uniforms