Parents have complained of increased textbook theft cases in schools.
Second-hand book vendors have been blamed for collaborating with rogue students and offering them a market for their stolen books.
Recently admitted form one students have been the target and have suffered most from this crime. Speaking on Thursday, Stephen Karanja, a form one student at Kahawa Barracks Secondary School, said all his text books were stolen two days after admission.
"I reported as usual on a Friday morning after being admitted on Wednesday only to find my desk broken into and all my new text books stolen. I reported to the class teacher and after thorough search on other students nothing was found," said disappointed Karanja.
Karanja also said cases of books theft in the school are rampant. He outlined dictionaries, bibles, atlases and set books as the main target. Micheal Kimani, a tax operator in Ruiru town, reported that he buys new text books every year for his son who schools in Kiambu High School.
"Every year I must buy new text books for my son to give back to school after the ones he has been issued with by the school are stolen," said Kimani.
A teacher, Joe Mwangi, said that even after his school insisted all students to buy their own copies instead of being issued by the school, the menace did not stop, it increased as there were many books to steal from. He said second-hand book vendors are to take blame.
"They are the ones contributing to this crime as they offer ready market to book thieves," insisted Mwangi.
But book vendors in Githurai were reluctant to tell where they source their merchandise from. "We get our books from many sources and it is very hard to tell whether the books are stolen or not," said a vendor.