School uniforms market should be widened

The design of school uniforms should remain unchanged for at least 10 years to attract more suppliers and businesses into the market, according to Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee.

All schools – state, Church and private – should do their “utmost” to keep their uniforms as simple and generic as possible, including the choice of colours and stitching, the Committee said in a report.

The report, uploaded for consultation on the Committee’s website, discusses the controversial subject of school uniforms where parents are often limited in price, quality and availability and fork out money for expensive items available only from one supplier.

In its recommendations, the Committee said that keeping the same uniform for at least 10 years would lead to more suppliers stocking the item as “it’s a guarantee” that parents would buy items over the years.

It called on the Education Minister, responsible for state schools, and Church and private schools to guarantee that uniforms would not change for at least a decade.

The Committee said it understood that schools wanted to have a separate identity and acknowledged the importance of free competition but the “utmost respect has to be shown to families, some of whom do great sacrifices to keep up with this expense”. It referred to a recent report by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority that carried out an in-depth study on the prices of uniforms for 97 schools.

In its recommendations, the Committee said schools should issue an expression of interest for the sale of specific items. Schools should not decide the price of items but let them be established after the bidder with the cheapest offer and best deal is chosen.

However, no contract signed between a school and supplier should be exclusive but should simply guarantee a supply of uniforms.

The Committee said more businesses should be attracted to selling uniforms which, in turn, would cause the prices to drop. Schools should also issue a circular, informing parents of the winning contract and allow them to buy the items from other suppliers.

Parents and the parents’ and teachers’ association should be consulted about any changes to the uniform.

Feedback, which will be accepted until March 9, can be sent to The Committee Secretary, Social Affairs Committee, House of Representatives, The Palace, Valletta VLT1115 or via e-mail at socialaffairs@parlament.mt.

The report is available on the committee's website.

http://www.parlament.mt/socialaffairscommittee