Uniforms of children who attend State primary schools will remain unchanged after more than two thirds of parents who took part in a questionnaire said they wanted to stick to the current outfits.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said the government would be respecting the wishes of the majority of parents – some of who, however, complained about the cost and quality of uniforms.
We negotiated better specifications which will mean better uniforms and prices
As a result, the government was in the process of selecting a contractor who would supply uniforms at prices which were 10 per cent lower than the present ones.
The prices will be locked for five years, he said, adding that the government had also included stricter specifications on the quality of the fabric used by the contractor.
Speaking during a press conference at Qormi’s St Ignatius Primary School, Mr Bartolo said a questionnaire was sent out to all the parents of children attending State primary schools last November.
They were asked to choose from three options – keeping uniforms as they were, simplifying them, or abolishing them. About 97 per cent of parents replied and the large majority – 75 per cent – said they wanted the uniforms to remain as they were. Some 17 per cent said they would like them simplified. Mr Bartolo said he could not rule out that parents wanted to retain uniforms because they had already spent the money and bought them. However, this was a legitimate reason and the result of the questionnaire had to be respected.
Some months ago, Times of Malta published the preliminary feedback to the uniforms’ questionnaire where parents insisted on comfort and the need to ensure quality fabric was used.
Many parents said they remained in favour of having a uniform because they feared that sending children to school in their own clothes could lead to bullying as some children could be picked on because of fashion choices.
Yesterday, Mr Bartolo said: “Nothing will change except for one thing. We negotiated better specifications which will mean better uniforms and prices.” He added that the negotiated prices would be locked for five years.
The prices would be 10 per cent lower than the current prices, resulting in savings of about €20.
The prices of uniforms of different State school colleges vary slightly due to the different fabrics and colours used.
A total of four contractors bid to be the recommended supplier of government school uniforms and the winning bidder would be announced in the coming days – once the appeal period had elapsed.
Over the years many parents complained about the “monopoly” on school uniforms that resulted in high prices.
In September 2011 a report released by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority concluded that schools should go for simple designs for their uniforms and that parents should be able to buy them anywhere, instead of being restricted to expensive ones from specialised outlets.
A government spokesman said the winning bidder for the State school uniforms would be the government’s recommended supplier but would not have exclusivity. This meant that parents could obtain their children’s uniforms elsewhere so long as they abided by the specifications.