Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has called on parents to formally report schools that compel them to buy uniforms or learning materials from specific outlets, stressing that enforcement action can only be taken when complaints are backed by evidence.

The appeal comes amid growing complaints from parents of Grade 10 students over the soaring cost of school uniforms and claimed monopolistic arrangements, a move that has delayed transition for most learners.

Speaking during an interview on a local radio station on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, Ogamba said the issue arises when some principals ignore government regulations that allow parents to source items like uniforms from the open market.

“The challenge is where some principals are flouting the regulations that have been put down that you must allow the parents to source, for example, uniforms from the free market, not to direct them to specific shops or to specific people from where they are supposed to buy those uniforms. That is not a policy of government,” he said.

Several schools are accused of selling uniforms at inflated prices or restricting purchases to approved vendors, a situation that has been linked to the delayed the reporting thousands of learners.

However, Ogamba stressed the importance of documented complaints, noting that while parents report being told to go to certain shops, the ministry often lacks written evidence to take action.

“We like the parent to say we are being told to go to a particular shop, but we do not have that. We are aware of what they say, but we do not have that evidence that has been written down so that we can take action against that particular principal,” he said.

Moreover, the CS revealed incidents where parents faced demands to pay exorbitant fees for student admission, terming it unacceptable and stating that the government will take action.

Action against schools

“Some parents were saying I was being told. Or somebody has asked us to pay Ksh150,000 for a place. So we say, can you come forward so that we can be able to take action against those particular principals?. Nobody comes forward. It then becomes difficult to be able to enforce that, because somebody will say, I have not asked for anything,” he explained.

The CS urged parents to assert their rights when asked to buy from specific shops.

“What we ask of parents, in situations where you are being told, you must go to the shop, stay put. Stay your ground and say. We are coming with this material bought from a different shop, and then, if you are being sent away, we will take action. But now, if you concede and you proceed to go to school and exceed what that demand is, it becomes difficult for our officers to enforce,” he said.

Ogamba emphasised the need for collective action, stressing that government regulations exist, but enforcement depends on evidence from parents.

“Some must take a stand, alright, because we know there are regulations that we put out there, but we do not have that hard evidence that we can act on it,” he said.