NCDC asked to deal with vendors

ALL schools in the National Capital District (NCD) have complied with the instruction from the Education department to ban vendors selling food and other items in and around school premises, says a senior school inspector.
NCD senior school inspector Elizabeth Kosi said principals, head teachers, and teachers in all NCD schools had complied with the instruction from the department’s secretary last year and had banned vending at schools.
She said the ban was imposed because of health risks and called on parents and guardians to pack meals for their children; she said the sale of snacks and food near schools also saw a lot of rubbish produced and people loitering around school premises.
Kosi said the ban helped reduce the number of students being sick in school and minimised loitering and helped keep the place cleaner.
Kosi said vendors were continuing to sell outside schools and that was now the responsibility of the National Capital District Commission to address.
“The directive has been implemented in all schools, when you go to schools now you will not see vendors selling inside, but they are still selling outside the fence.
“We cannot do much because that is outside the school premises but that is something for NCDC to address,” Kosi said.
She said schools had canteens for students and parents were also advised to pack lunches for their children.
She said the six inspectors in NCD were tasked to inspect schools in the six zones to ensure schools continued to comply with department directives.
New Erima Primary School head master Yalo Kipungi said his school had implemented the ban on vendors selling inside their premises but agreed with Kosi that they were powerless to do anything about the sales outside their premises.