Parents Have Right To Choose Where To Buy School Uniforms, Ministry Says

Speaking
at
a
recent
meeting
in
Bulawayo,
the
ministry’s
Director
of
Communications
and
Advocacy,
Taungana
Ndoro,
urged
parents
with
grievances
to
report
them
to
the
Ministry’s
district
offices,
where
they
would
be
addressed
appropriately.

Citing
Thekwane
High
School
as
a
case
currently
under
investigation,
Ndoro
stressed
that
schools
are
not
allowed
to
make
uniform
purchases
a
condition
for
enrolment,
describing
such
practices
as
illegal.
He
said:

“There
was
talk
of
schools
saying
that
for
Form
One
or
Lower
Six,
purchase
uniforms
to
be
guaranteed
a
place.

“The
minister
announced
it
on
television:
no
school
is
allowed
to
force
parents
to
buy
uniforms
at
that
school.”

Ndoro
emphasised
that
parents
are
free
to
purchase
school
uniforms
from
any
supplier,
provided
the
correct
colour
codes
are
followed.

He
argued
that
when
a
school
engages
in
commercial
activities,
such
as
manufacturing
uniforms,
it
effectively
places
itself
in
competition
with
the
wider
market.

However,
he
stressed
that
competition
does
not
equate
to
a
monopoly,
and
schools
cannot
compel
parents
to
buy
uniforms
exclusively
from
them.

Ndoro
warned
that
any
school
that
forces
parents
to
purchase
uniforms
or
stationery
directly
from
the
institution
is
acting
unlawfully.
He
said:

“If
a
blazer
is
US$35
in
the
market
and
US$45
at
school,
parents
will
go
to
the
market.

“You
don’t
need
to
force
them,
and
if
it’s
vice
versa,
parents
will
buy
at
the
school.”

He
urged
communities
to
report
such
cases
through
official
channels,
“so
that
parents
do
not
have
to
suffer
in
silence.”

Ndoro
also
clarified
that
while
the
ministry’s
uniform
policy
mainly
applies
to
public
schools,
private
schools
are
governed
by
their
own
contractual
arrangements.
He
said:

“When
you
send
your
child
to
a
non-government
school,
you
have
made
your
choice
to
say
that
you
want
education
that
is
provided
outside
the
public
system.

“This
is
sort
of
like
a
private
arrangement
in
which
you
get
into
a
contractual
agreement
with
the
schools,
and
you
sign
various
contracts.

“If
you
don’t
read
the
fine
print
of
that
contract,
there’s
not
much
we
can
do
when
you
come
to
us
as
the
ministry.

“If
you
breach
that
contract,
they
will
take
you
to
court
outside
of
us
because
you’ve
made
the
contract
in
a
private
civil
arrangement.”

However,
Ndoro
stressed
that
private
schools
remain
subject
to
ministry
oversight
in
matters
such
as
fee
approvals
and
travel
authorisations.