The summer holidays are nearing the end and preparations for the new scholastic year are gaining ground. One of the main concerns before the beginning of every scholastic year is the school uniform. This is a major expense especially for low-income families with more than one child attending school. We Maltese are proud to state that we give free education to all, but families do have to fork out money to educate their children. There is a wide range of expenses incurred by families however and school uniforms take a big chunk of these. Then there are those who send their children to private or church schools who also have to pay for their children’s books.

Schools should think long and hard before deciding to change the school uniform and this must not be a frivolous decision. At times schools decide to make some alterations to the uniform and this decision also creates a problem for low-income families and those who have more than one child attending the same school. The Education Division or the Directorate concerned should listen to the people’s concerns, take action in this respect, and investigate every request to change or alter the school uniform without a valid reason.

Another issue related to this is the monopoly that exists, whether it is from a particular shop or shops or from the school itself. I believe that this should stop especially now that we are members of the European Union where one of the bases is the free market and as such competition. If parents manage to find better prices from other shops or even sew the uniform themselves this should not be a problem at all.

However, there will always be families that for some reason or another cannot afford to buy a decent uniform for their child. In this case the authority has to consider paying for it. If we believe in social justice and that all children are equal this is something that needs to be considered seriously.

What is being done by the authorities concerned to manage all this? What role, if any, is the Consumer Department playing to see that there is competition and that the prices being charged are also fair? Most parents go out of their way to make sure their children have all they need. This is very positive indeed, however shop owners must not abuse this fact and charge as much as they like. Schools do receive a grant from the government to cover their expenses. If this is not enough, which as a matter of fact it is not due to taxation and reduction in the budget allocation in recent years by the present government, schools should be more careful when they charge parents for uniforms.

Speaking with business people they do explain the hardships that families go through when they need to buy something. In these difficult times, especially for the middle and lower class families, every possible measure should be done not to increase their expenses especially when the Nationalist government is already heavily taxing these. School uniforms as such are an expense that needs to be studied carefully without creating additional hardship for these families.

Mr Abela is shadow minister for education, youth, sports and culture