By NOEL IYOMBWA
RESPECTIVE District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) should take to task school managers who are forcing parents to buy uniforms from their schools, National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) executive director Aron Chansa has said.
Mr Chansa said it was illegal to force parents to buy uniforms at the schools.
He was reacting to complaints from parents at Shifwakula Basic School that school authorities are forcing parents to buy uniforms at the school at high prices.
Mr Chansa said that the move was affecting access to education because some parents could not afford to buy expensive uniforms at schools.
He said that the DEBS office should take the school authority to task and that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should also move.
Mr Chansa observed that Shifwakula Secondary School being in rural setup, most parents were not financially stable hence subjecting them to be buying uniforms at high prices was depriving children the right to education.
He said the move was illegal and should be condemned at the strongest terms.
“This is illegal and we are calling on the District Education Board Secretary to take the authority to task and the consumer protection should also move in because the law does not allow,” he said.
Some parents have complained that the prices for uniforms were too high and that they were forced to buy at the school for pupils who were reporting for the first time.
One of the parents who opted not to be named explained that despite having school fees she had failed to buy a school uniform for her grade eight son.
When contacted for a comment, school headmaster William Mawere confirmed in a telephone interview that uniforms were costing K400 each.
Meanwhile, Mr Chansa has called on parents to negotiate with school authorities whenever they faced financial challenges in paying school fees.
He said as much as it was not allowed to chase pupils, parents should engage schools on how they could be paying because it must be a win-win situation.
