By Michael Aboneka
It is not new that parents and guardians are complaining about the extortionist tendencies by the schools. The extortion ranges from high fees, increased almost every term to scandalous school requirements that some schools will also take the equivalent of the same in cash. The schools continue to milk parents and guardians and taking advantage of the fact that their children need to keep their positions in the school.
Even as we continue to push for the Ministry of Education to regulate fees and ban all non-fees items, parents and guardians and all other stakeholders should be at the forefront to fight the exorbitant dues and requirements. Why would parents allow a school to demand that they bring rugs, rakes, paint, toilet rolls, brooms, reams of paper, books, pens and hand them over to school management, meanwhile do a side shopping for their students and pupils of almost the same items.
Why should parents continue to watch unfair tendencies such as sale of visiting cards, concealing the amounts of schools fees to be paid, as one can only find out when they go to the banking hall? Why would one pay registration fees, clearance fees and admission fees on top of school fees? What is the development fees for, for example? Why should a parent participate in building your business empire?
We should not leave education of our children to the schools and businesses sharks! Parents must stand up and demand transparency in schools and also call for abolition of some of the scandalous school requirements. The Parents’ unity and association should be strong enough to call school management to order because it is their children’s future at risk. What happened to the Parents/teachers meetings? What do parents discuss in there? It is high time parents woke up and joined the fight against commercialization of the right to education.
Michael Aboneka is a partner at Thomas & Michael Advocates, Director Envirogreen Trust Ltd, Vice President-Young African Activists Network (YAAN) and Member International Society of Public Law & World Youth Alliance.