CONCERNS ON BREACH OF SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY

Madam,

I am writing on behalf of the independent school uniform sewing community in Eswatini to address an issue of significant concern. Recently, the Minister of Education announced a directive stating that school uniforms should not be sold directly by schools. However, despite this directive, there are still schools that are insisting parents purchase uniforms exclusively from the school premises.

Furthermore, many of our fellow independent sewers have compiled a list of schools that are disregarding this directive, directly contravening the ministry’s guidelines. We were informed by the ministry that, should such practices occur, we are within our rights to voice this concern to the relevant authorities.

As small business owners specialising in sewing school uniforms, we deeply value the opportunity afforded to us by the ministry’s directive. However, this opportunity is being undermined by schools that continue to impose restrictions on where parents can purchase uniforms. This not only affects our business, but also limits parent’s options and increases costs for many families.

We trust that the ministry will take swift action to ensure compliance with this directive and rectify the situation. We remain hopeful that these concerns will be addressed to support independent sewers and uphold fair practices in the education sector. The Eswatini Competition Commission investigated and intervened in the school uniform procurement process to ensure that schools do not enter into anti-competitive agreements with suppliers.

The commission’s actions are intended to protect the rights of learners and ensure that the school uniform market is competitive. It said that it received complaints from parents who have been forced to buy uniforms from specific suppliers at higher prices.

These supply agreements between some schools and some suppliers have the object or effect of restricting, preventing or distorting competition. The consumers buy school uniform at higher prices than they ordinarily would in a competitive environment and potential competitors find it difficult to effectively enter the market for the supply of school uniform due to the nature of the supply agreements.

A recent investigation by the ECC found that the entry into the market for the supply of school uniform has been the most difficult to competitors who are without supply agreements as they are finding it difficult to significantly compete with those with supply agreements. Thus, suppliers with supply agreements have a competitive advantage over those without.
Regards,
Anonymous
(Representing the Independent Sewers of Eswatini)

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