Members of Parliament, through the Parliamentary Committee on Education, are now pushing the Ministry of Education to develop policies to ensure fair and equitable placement of students joining senior secondary schools.
According to the National Assembly (NA) Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, the proposed policies will help ensure equality across all levels of education.
Speaking on Sunday while presiding over a fundraiser at St. Mary’s Uriri Parish in Uriri Sub-County, Ichung’wah said Equal Placement Policy in Senior Secondary Schools will address the low intake experienced in the majority of the Sub-County schools across the country.
The first transition of Grade 9 to Senior Secondary School, the Kikuyu MP said, was high at the National Schools as compared to other levels of school categories, with Sub-County schools recording low enrolment turnout.
The NA Majority Leader also called upon the Ministry of Education to ensure that students wear the same school uniforms. Currently, junior school students wear different uniforms from those in other levels, a situation he said is placing an additional financial burden on parents.
Ichung’wah also urged the Ministry of Education to issue a directive to stop Senior Secondary schools’ management from selling school uniforms directly to parents when students join the institutions.
“Senior Schools in this country have nurtured a habit to engage in the business of selling school uniforms to their learners, with some overpricing the uniforms, making them unnecessarily expensive for families who are struggling to pay school fees,” lamented Ichung’wah.
By Makokha Khaoya
