Enforce Matiangi’s orders

The early release of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam results and the fact that those who performed well will be joining Form One this month, rather than March as has been the tradition, lays a heavy financial burden on parents.

Coming soon after the Christmas and New Year festivities, the realities parents face now that schools have opened for first term in the New Year are daunting.

From paying school fees, buying textbooks and uniforms in between, it requires a lot of money, and here is where Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i must come in and save parents a few coins.

Most schools have over the years colluded with suppliers to compel parents to buy books and uniforms from particular suppliers. It does not need a lot of imagination to know why.

The Cabinet Secretary’s directive that parents should be allowed to purchase uniforms and other school items from their sources of choice, must be enforced. Some school heads are bound to flout this directive and must be punished for the exploitation of parents must stop.

A skirt, for instance, that retails at Sh550 ends up costing the parent Sh900 from specific suppliers. Equally important, schools must stay within the school fee guidelines.