The price of school uniform is excessively high but thanks to an investigation by the Competition Commission, these prices will drop shortly.
Every person experiences the sweat-inducing fear that comes along with facing the dreaded wait for the January pay cheque. No-one more so than parents getting ready to send their kids back to school. The price of stationery and school uniforms is enough to send any parent into sleepless nights.
School uniform is usually the biggest concern because of its price and the fact that it only lasts a child about one year and even less if the child is experiencing a massive growth spurt.
Thankfully, the Competition Commission launched an investigation into the price of school uniforms and with a matter of weeks left to announce their findings, it has been said that the finding could reduce the price of uniforms across all sectors. Competition Commission spokesperson Sipho Ngwema shared some of the findings with The Star.
- Over a third of private schools and former Model C schools were found to have exclusive agreements with school uniform suppliers. Of these, 87% of private schools and 53% of former Model C schools have just one exclusive agreement.
- The majority of schools which have entered into exclusive agreements for the supply of school uniforms had not done so through open tenders across all provinces.
- These contracts had existed for a number of years, with the earliest contract being made in 1974.
In 2015, the Basic Education Department issued a circular that all school uniforms should be generic as possible so that people could get what they needed from a variety of suppliers. The Competition Commission is said to be enforcing this as a general rule as well.
While this information won’t help parents shopping this new school year, it will have a positive impact on the winter uniform season and the years to come.
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