Time to stop this unnecessary school uniform nonsense

If there is one story in the news that will warm the hearts of debt-weary parents it must be the revelation that Competition Commission officials are closing in on price-fixing and other potentially anti-competitive behaviour among schools and uniform suppliers.

Initially started as a probe involving top private schools after complaints from parents at the beginning of the year, the inquiry is now being expanded to take in all schools and uniform suppliers, an industry worth about R10-billion and which involves about 15 million pupils.

The inquiry is incomplete but already the commission confirms that it has identified several potentially anti-competitive exclusive supply agreements.

Such news will merely confirm the suspicion of many parents that they have been taken for a ride after being forced to buy uniforms and other apparel such as bespoke swimming costumes, towels, or bags at eye-watering cost from a single school store or an external supplier.

Should the Competition Commission find that there has been collusion the Competition Tribunal will be able to levy stiff fines, among other penalties.

What is needed is more than fines being handed out - rather a rethink about how schools approach uniforms and other clothing requirements.

Many current uniform requirements at schools seem simply arbitrary, impractical and an unnecessary cost.

There is a strong case to be made, as has been mooted in the past, for a single national school uniform that can be supplied at scale and reasonable cost by a variety of manufacturers. Schools could introduce individual identity through low-cost badges, insignia or other identifiers which would not cripple households.

For years, tradition and cosy agreements between suppliers and schools have pushed this to the bottom of the agenda. Hopefully, the commission's inquiries will move it to the top.