Parents in Nakuru town have now resorted to buying books from backstreet book vendors claiming bookshops had hiked book prices.
The parents on, Wednesday, protested over an increase in book prices and accused bookstores of a conspiracy to steal from them.
Joel Ombogi who was spotted shopping in one of the town's book stall said that he had resorted to the black market because he could no longer afford the new cost of textbooks in bookshops.
"I'd rather buy textbooks from here because what we are being asked to part with at the main bookstores here in town is exorbitantly high," he said.
The same sentiments were shared by Tabitha Jerop, who said the backstreet centres were charging friendly costs.
"It is better than what is being charged at the bookshops and I wonder why the costs have nosedived in such a short period," she said.
A spot check indicates a sharp contrast between the costs of textbooks in the two extremes with a difference of sh400 for a secondary school revision book.