Parents in Thika preparing to take their children to Form One next month have been asked to be keen when buying second-hand books not to buy old edition books which may resemble their revised editions.
Speaking in his Thika office on Thursday, Thika West Education officer Ephantus Micheni said that there exists several editions of a given particular book and parents especially those buying from the streets may end up buying the wrong editions.
"Parents must get clearly which edition of books the schools want them to buy for their children. You may find one book that has several editions in the market and that may confuse the parents if they are not keen on details," said Micheni.
He noted that books like Atlases and language dictionaries are revised regularly to accommodate emerging changes in the world and in the languages.
"Books have become very expensive especially this year and many parents definitely will be seeking alternatives in the streets. However, it could be prove to be even a more expensive affair if they buy the wrong books and they are forced to go back to the shop to buy the required ones," he added.