Price of private school uniforms in the spotlight

Aim to curb anti-competitive behaviour

The Competition Commission urges schools to adhere to the school uniform guidelines

THE Competition Commission and private schools are expected to meet the Competition Tribunal next month to discuss school uniform guidelines aimed at curbing anti-competitive behaviour.

Investigations last year into the R10 billion school uniform industry showed anti-competitive behaviour between schools and suppliers.

It found most schools that had entered into exclusive agreements for the supply of school uniforms had not done so through open tenders across all provinces and of those schools that had exclusive agreements with school uniform suppliers, most contracts started a number of years ago.

The earliest contract was made in 1974 and some were still entering into such agreements last year.

The investigation had also found a third of private schools and 567 of 1 723 former Model C schools indicated having exclusive agreements with school uniform suppliers.

Of all those schools that had exclusive agreements, 87% of the private schools and 53% of the former Model C schools had just one such agreement.

The commission also did a survey that showed a large number of schools were not familiar with a circular issued by the Department of Basic Education on May 15, 2015, regulating how school uniforms should be purchased.

The circular said a school uniform should be as generic as possible, so that it could be purchased from as many suppliers as possible and that schools should appoint more than one supplier in order to give parents more options.

The Competition Commission this week said it had engaged private schools, suppliers, governing bodies, and the government.

The commission agreed on the implementation of school uniform guidelines issued by the government. They include:

● School uniforms should be as generic as possible such that it is obtainable from as many suppliers possible.

● Exclusivity should be limited to items that the schools regard as necessary to obtain from pre-selected suppliers, eg badges.

● Schools should follow a competitive bidding process when appointing suppliers.

“The commission signed a memorandum of understanding with Fedsas, a federation of school governing bodies, which is aimed at educating and encouraging schools to comply with the guidelines.

“Further, the commission engaged private schools like Curro, Advtech and Reddam House amongst others. The private schools' response and co-operation was phenomenal.

“Thus, we have jointly approached the Competition Tribunal and the product of our interaction will be heard on February 6, 2019.

“The Competition Commission urges schools to adhere to the school uniform guidelines aimed at curbing anti-competitive behaviour at schools.

“This is aimed at making sure that schools are compliant with the Competition Act but, most importantly, that school uniforms become reasonable and affordable,” the commission said.