The Office of Fair Competition yesterday said it has extended its inquiry on school items to give a greater chance for everyone involved to give a contribution. It has however also recommended that school uniforms should be available from more than one outlet and that schools should avoid choosing uniforms with complicated designs to reduce expenses.

The inquiry was launched last May by Investment Minister Tonio Fenech and was tasked with investigating whether school items are being sold at a fair price and to ensure that there is no form of abuse. The results of the inquiry were promised before the start of the new scholastic year. However, as stated in several articles that appeared in The Malta Independent over the past days, the new scholastic year started and yet the inquiry was not published.

In a statement, the Office of Fair Competition said that questionnaires were distributed to all schools. Over 1,000 parents and 133 schools participated in the survey.

“The Office also held a number of meetings with particular schools and with a number of market operators. Even though the Office aimed to complete the inquiry before the start of the scholastic year, the need to hear as many stakeholders as possible in order to draw up fair recommendations led to an extension of the process.”

Among its recommendations, the Office of Fair Competition said there should be a process for call for tenders for the supply of uniforms and that uniforms should be available from more than one outlet.

Furthermore, the Office added, schools should avoid choosing uniforms with complicated designs to avoid extra expenses.

“Discussions are being held with the Education Division about how these recommendations should be converted into guidelines followed by all schools.”