The market of school uniforms, books and stationery is coming under the scrutiny of the Office of Fair Competition, which wants to ensure parents are not getting the short end of the stick.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech acknowledged this had been an issue raised during the electoral campaign and he wanted to get to the bottom of parents' objections, especially those related to uniforms.
Several complaints were lodged by parents who felt they could buy cheaper material for the uniforms elsewhere but instead were obliged to buy from a particular shop chosen by the school, where a blazer could cost twice as much.
Mr Fenech said it was a recognised fact that students of government, Church and private schools in Malta were sometimes expected to order their uniform, books and stationery from a specified retailer.
"We are going to be looking into why parents are compelled to buy uniforms from a particular shop and whether there are agreements between the schools and the shop, which could be of detriment to parents," Mr Fenech said.
He understood that the reality of the economies of scales could be wrong if a tailor-made uniform was cheaper than that produced in bulk.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday to launch the inquiry into the market, Mr Fenech said that if the analysis revealed any malpractice then an investigation would be opened and action taken to remedy the situation.
Mireille Vella, director general of the Consumer and Competition Division, explained that the OFC will be sending 1,400 questionnaires to parents through students in different schools and will also be approaching the 159 schools across Malta and Gozo. Parents are also being encouraged to access the questionnaire online.
Dr Vella made a special appeal to parents to take part so that they could establish whether the market allowed them a choice on where to buy uniforms, books and stationery.
The analysis is geared to establish whether exclusive contracts between school and retailers had a detrimental effect on prices paid, as well as the quality and value of the products bought, and whether they offered any benefits to the schools concerned.
Guidelines will be issued once the analysis is over in order to ensure the regulations established are followed. All this process will be complete by the end of June, to ensure everything is ironed out in time for the next scholastic year.
It was pointed out that guidelines on this sector had been issued some years back. So what was the scope of drawing up new ones?
"Schools and suppliers have since changed, so the situation had to be reviewed and new guidelines issued," Dr Vella said.
Asked if the government planned to adopt Labour's proposal to refund VAT paid on education-related material, such as uniforms, Mr Fenech said the issue was not VAT but the price of the product.
"Revising the present VAT process would end up costing more. The true issue is whether the price being paid is just or not. We are addressing the problem at its core, not with political gimmicks," he said.
For more information or a copy of the questionnaire one can send an e-mail to louise.sammut@gov.mt or clare.zammit@gov.mt. The questionnaire can be downloaded from the ministry's website at www.finance.gov.mt.