Schools urged to use cheap uniforms

Schools must stop forcing hard-pressed parents to pay over-the-odds prices for their children’s uniforms — some of which cost up to 15 times more than less-expensive, generic brands.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, anti-poverty group St Vincent de Paul and the National Parents Council’s primary division, made the call after it emerged non-school specific uniforms can be bought for as little as €5.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, all three groups said the financial pressure on parents to buy the school-specific, crest-emblazoned clothes is too much in these economic times.

And while the minister and the two independent groups cannot force individual school governance boards to do away with the practice in favour of more affordable uniforms, all three have called for the issue to be re-examined.

The comments were made as cut-price chain store Aldi said it is selling “the cheapest school uniform in Ireland” for €5 — including a €2 pair of trousers, a €1.25 pair of polo shirts and a €1.75 round-neck sweater.

Parents are then asked to sew specific school crests onto the clothes.

The price — which is marginally lower than the best value deals in Tesco’s back-to-school range — is between €50 and €70 lower than what parents can be asked to pay under school-specific offers.

“There are a lot of schools where the parents have a say and can iron on a crest, but we would have parents who cannot pay for this,” explained Áine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents Council’s primary division.

“Uniforms don’t last all year, sometimes they only last five minutes, so we want schools to look at the type of families they have enrolled.

“It would be too cynical to say it’s about the school making money, some parents like the idea of a set uniform, but uniforms are a real expense for families.”

St Vincent de Paul regional Cork vice-president, Brendan Dempsey, added the group is witnessing an upsurge in parents seeking help for school costs, an issue he said schools have no excuse to cause even if they also “have their backs against the wall”.

The school-specific cost problems are mirrored in Britain, with a Catholic school in Hamsphire recently telling parents they must buy a specific uniform costing as much as £97 (€123).

However, in the North, parents have for decades been able to buy generic, cheaper uniforms and sow the school crest on after purchasing it separately, significantly reducing costs.

A Department of Education spokesperson said Mr Quinn has “clearly signalled his support for any measures that can reduce uniform costs for parents”.

She said the minister has repeatedly raised the issue with the National Parents Council urging them to “mobilise parents’ associations and schools’ associations to raise this with school authorities”.

The spokesperson said: “It is important schools are sensitive to the financial pressures on parents in making decisions, not just about school uniforms but about any matter that has cost implications for parents.”

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