School Adopt Barter Trade For Fees.In the face of rising living costs, parents across the country are once again faced with the responsibility of paying school fees, uniforms, and books.The administration of Rurigi Secondary School in Uasin Gishu county has accepted a form of barter exchange as a means of paying fees in a rare act of humanity and goodwill.Non-monetary objects such as farm food, building stones, and even firewood are permitted at the school.As form 1 pupils report to numerous schools around the country, not all parents or guardians have the financial resources to pay the needed school fees.Spencer Olaka, a carpenter and parent at Rurigi high school, provides his services to fix school tables and mattresses in exchange for his child’s education.As barter for school fees, parents bring animal feeds, firewood, corn bags, vegetables, building stones, and a variety of other non-monetary commodities to the school.The majority of the parents in this area are claimed to be peasant farmers, hence poverty levels are exceptionally high.The new system, according to the school’s vice principal, has increased enrolment, and no student will be sent home owing to a lack of school payments.This comes even as thousands of kids are yet to report for Form One, one week after their peers began secondary school, due to a shortage of school payments.ALSO READ:According to a spot check by the Nation, not all of the 1,171,265 pupils placed in secondary schools by the Ministry of Education have reported, putting the 100% transfer policy in jeopardy. It’s also a setback for the affirmative action program, which places students from underserved communities and the urban poor in top national and extra-county schools.The hefty cost of uniforms and other regulations has angered many parents and guardians. Bedding, metal boxes or bags, dictionaries, shoes, and personal possessions might cost up to Sh33,000 each item.School Adopt Barter Trade For Fees
