State school winter and summer uniforms and sports track suits cost between €142 and €168, the the House Social Affairs Committee heard on Wednesday.

The information was provided by the Director General of the Directorate for Educational Services, Micheline Sciberras, who answered questions put by the committee chairwoman Deborah Schembri.

Ms Sciberras said the different state colleges had accepted the cheapest bids by providers after issuing a call for expressions of interest for the provision of uniforms.

These providers had entered into a contract of supply for three to five-year periods.

However, this did not preclude parents from buying school uniforms from other providers as long as the specific uniform requirements were observed.

This was the reality in one particular college.

Also, many parents opted to buy more than one set of uniforms. It was the parents’ choice to decide on the quality of the fabric provided.

In reply to questions by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis on assistance to needy families, Ms Sciberras said that schools could make use of their own funds to help such families where cases were genuine.

The heads of school fully knew the circumstances of their students and families.

A system was also in place in schools whereby past students donated their well-kept uniforms to the school.

These would then be donated to students whose parents could not afford the expense.

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