Isn’t a School Uniform a Waste of Money?

Charles informed me that although education in Kenya is free up to Class 7, children cannot attend school unless they possess a uniform and purchase their own texts. This was a surprise to me and it sensitized me to how such a requirement could quickly render basic education inaccessible to many families living in poverty—some living on less than $2 a day. I couldn't fathom the decision a family might be faced with, realizing that the purchase of a uniform so their child could attend school would likely be at the expense of some other necessity. In some cases, I learned that families had to choose which among their several children they could afford to send school.

I also learned about the importance of school identity. All schools in Kenya require uniforms, allowing students to proudly show their colours at special events, for example. Conversely, a child misbehaving in public could cast a small shadow on the school’s reputation—now easily identifiable by the uniform colours. Uniforms serve yet another function: enabling the quick identification of a child who may be in peril. Charles explained that a child that is injured or even abducted for labour purposes (which is all too common in areas of poverty) can be identified more quickly by the community and referenced back to the school due to the child's uniform. This is a practical intervention at a time when the school may be the only advocate for the child when their care taker is buried deep in the thick maze of rural pathways kilometres away from the school.