School uniforms must be ‘elegant but affordable’

Thousands of Maltese and Gozitan families had to buy expensive school uniforms for the upcoming academic year, the Labour Party said yesterday.

“We ended up in a ridiculous situation whereby the system of buying uniforms is hurting the families it should help most, those with a lower income who want to send their children to school in the same sort of clothes that their peers have,” education spokesman Evarist Bartolo noted.

Many families were incurring “exaggerated expenses” to purchase uniform items and were not managing to keep up, Mr Bartolo said.

A preliminary report released by the government consumer agency on Wednesday criticised the fact that parents were pressured and left in a “very vulnerable position” by schools’ strict policies for children to wear a full uniform, of which many items were over-priced and limited to specific retailers.

Mr Bartolo said uniforms should be “elegant” but affordable for all families. The uniform items should also be long-lasting and not changed frequently, he added.

It was essential that the educational authorities, heads of school and colleges were not “capricious” and kept in mind families’ income.

He referred to official statistics released in July which revealed that 21 per cent of children, about 16,000, lived at risk of poverty. Also, about 45 per cent of families had a daily income of between €30 and €40.

The Education Ministry pointed out that Mr Bartolo’s statement showed he did not know what was going on in state schools and made suggestions that the education authorities started implementing over a year ago.

In September 2010, the ministry had issued a statement about uniforms in state schools explaining that rules had been implemented to control the price of uniforms while ensuring quality and value for money.

The authorities consulted teachers, parents and students in the choice of uniforms and offers for tenders were issued by each college, all based on recommendations issued by the Office of Fair Competition. The designs of the new uniforms were simple, making it easier for parents to buy the items, the ministry said.