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{
    "id": 1214037,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1214037/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 82,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilgoris, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Julius Sunkuli",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I also take this opportunity to congratulate you and the rest of the ladies, but I think you stand out among them as the most well-dressed today. On the issue of uniforms, when I first joined school in 1969, I came from a more enlightened family because my uncle was a teacher. On my first day in school, I reported to school in a long khaki shirt. We did not require trousers at that time. That was the upper-class way of dressing because some of my classmates arrived in class dressed in only a maasai shuka and nothing else. The differences were manifested in what students were wearing. A few weeks later, we were given uniforms. Luckily, we went to a Catholic school and the missionaries provided us with uniforms. On the day we wore uniforms, we all looked alike. There was no difference between a child from a rich family, a child from an enlightened family and a child from a poor family. Uniforms have a way of making students equal. Sometimes I hear people say that we do not need uniforms but they have become part of our learning culture. We must always have uniforms in school. Uniforms distinguish you from students from other schools and give you a sense of pride as far as your personality is concerned. A child from Kilgoris Boys High School looks different from a child from Kisii High School and each of them will have a sense of pride in their uniform. The only problem in recent days is the way we handle this uniform issue. Many headteachers are using this school uniform as a business for themselves. As a result, they have made connections with producers and vendors of the uniforms. When a student reports to school, he or she is required to go to a particular shop in order to buy uniform. This kind of business has escalated the prices of uniforms. This is because if a school has only one source of uniform, then that means there is no competition and consequently the prices of uniforms will be very high. Other schools have made it a requirement that they should dress in designer uniforms and only have a certain quality. A principal of a school will look at a child’s uniform and tell them that it is not pure cotton. In my view, this is where we need to correct ourselves as Kenyans. The question of standardising uniform must be on the colour and the shape of the uniform rather than the texture. We should accept whatever the students can afford as long as it is approximately close in style and colour to what has been recommended by the school. In the United States of America (USA), only a few schools are required to wear uniforms but even then, the dress that you wear is standardised. Therefore, there is a dress code and you do not just appear in school with anything. However, because of poverty in Kenya, we cannot expect that uniforms become the most expensive part of our education. We would like The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}