The National Parents Association now wants the Ministry of Education to allow secondary school heads to sell uniforms ahead of form 1 admission.
NPA Chairperson Silas Obuhatsa said some national schools have special uniforms which may be difficult for parents to find in the market.
"We are urging the government to consider allowing principals, especially those in national schools who depend on special uniforms one year 2024, to sell uniforms to parents but strictly from January 2025 parents to purchase uniforms outside schools," the NPA boss said.
Obuhatsa said though parents appreciate the government for allowing them to purchase uniforms from their known suppliers, some challenges could arise from the directive.
"There are challenges likely to arise following the scarcity of the right uniform in shops due to high demand," he said.
Obuhatsa said there is a likelihood there will be a tag of war between Principals and parents whose children will not get uniforms available in shops on time.
He said it would be very difficult for school managers to allow learners to go to school in blankets because of the lack of uniforms in shops.
"We believe that for early planning, some school managers had already ordered and delivered uniforms in schools to avoid confusion on the opening day," he said.
The NPA boss said this could lead to a big loss of taxpayers' money since parents might not purchase such uniforms from schools.
"We know very well scrupulous money-hungry individuals will take advantage of the poor parents to charge uniforms three or four times what the schools would have charged," he said.
Obuhatsa said even finding uniforms in shops will be like unga in the past few months.
He said there shall be high demand and less supply therefore parents will be the biggest losers with learners being unable to report to school in civilian clothes.
