Zim Now Writer
The government needs to craft a policy to stop schools from forcing parents to buy uniforms at exorbitant prices, primary and secondary education minister Evelyn Ndlovu told parliament on Wednesday.
"… if schools are now overcharging our people, then we have to come up with a statutory instrument or a policy to control what is happening because it would seem that they are making money out of our people. So, we will come up with a statutory instrument or policy document that will control that,” Minister Nldovu said.
This comes after a public outcry over schools that force parents to buy uniforms from the institution at much higher prices compared to market options.
She did not outline any details of how the policy would tackle the matter.
Ndlovu said the ministry has encouraged schools to produce their own uniforms by utilising students learning fashion and fabrics, the plan was never to force parents to buy these at astronomical prices.
Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba asked Minister Ndlovu to focus on the issue at hand saying, ".. the question that was posed was not talking about fashion and fabrics in schools. The question is, we have schools that are buying uniforms at OK Bazaars, Enbee or sourcing their own self-made uniforms. They are buying these uniforms and reselling them in schools. Some have a policy that says everyone should buy uniforms at the school.
"The school fees are exorbitant, school uniforms are expensive and parents are no longer affording to send children to school. What do we do about such an issue that schools are now selling uniforms at exorbitant prices?"
Cartels extorting parents through school uniform rules have been a problem in Zimbabwe for many years with a former MOPSE Permanent Secretary publicly implicated in the corrupt practices.
Other African countries like Kenya face the same problem.
South Africa and Botswana have a common uniform for public schools, effectively cutting out the profiteering loophole. In Angola learners wear white coats on top of their ordinary clothes.
The suggestions to adopt a common national schools uniform has been floated but no concrete steps have been taken to make it real.
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