As schools reopen across the country, parents and students in Meru County face multiple challenges, from high transportation costs to increased prices of school supplies.
According to Mr Paul Mutuku, a parent, the cost of transportation has increased, pushing parents to stretch their budgets even further.
In addition, bookshops within Meru town were filled to the maximum as parents brought with them a long list of books, tools, supplies, and other resources to meet the requirements of the Competency-based Curriculum (CBC), as opposed to the 8 -4-4 system, which has fewer requirements.
On the other hand, uniform shops experienced a slow flow of parents compared to other years, a situation associated with the high cost of living.
Many parents have expressed concern over their ability to keep up with the new school term and requested the government to provide or subsidize learning materials thus reduce the burden they have to shoulder.
Elsewhere, Meru County Deputy Governor, Mr Isaac Mutuma, called on the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) as well as Traffic Police officers to control public service vehicles ferrying students as well as other Kenyans to various destinations to avoid road accidents and loss of lives.
He noted that many matatu operators take advantage of the back-to-school season to engage in a mad rush to make more money without considering the safety of their passengers, the majority of whom are learners.
“We are calling on the two agencies to take charge of this transport sector so that we can avoid losing the lives of Kenyans who have ambitions to change their country,” said Mr Mutuma.
By Dickson Mwiti and Ongeri Lucas
