The influence of 'hidden' costs of school uniforms for refugee students in Kenya

Despite the international community's ongoing commitments to basic education, as demonstrated by the UN Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, an estimated 250 million children are still out of school, of whom seven million are school-aged refugees. Interviews with former students in a refugee camp in Kenya explore how the 'hidden' costs of school uniforms ultimately led to their decision to drop out of primary school. Emergent themes reveal that the financial burden of school uniforms, and unsupportive school and classroom environment were the largest contributors to students' decision to leave school. Although school uniforms were not a compulsory policy in Kenya, they were strictly enforced in most, if not all, schools in the camp, and students out of uniform would be sent home or abused. Despite dropping out, many participants described their hope to one day return to school in order to better support their families.