The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) is working with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to address the issue of schools that require parents to purchase uniforms exclusively from them or selected suppliers.
This follows complaints from parents and guardians about inflated prices for uniforms, as well as concerns from small uniform manufacturers who feel excluded from the market.
In an interview with The Chronicle on the sidelines of World Competition Day commemorations in Bulawayo last week, CTC Mergers and Acquisitions Assistant Director Tatenda Zengeni revealed that the majority of schools are involved in this malpractice. Said Zengeni:
We found out that they have been contravening the Competition Act and we issued a cease and desist order.
However, we found out that this practice is not unique to Warren Park High, but it was also prevalent in the majority of schools in Zimbabwe. So, we have decided to take a holistic approach.
We are engaging with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to try and come up with some kind of regulation that will be communicated to schools, directing them to stop engaging in this kind of anti-competitive practice.
Many times, you realise that when you go to those schools that force you to buy school uniforms from their tuck-shops or their preferred suppliers, the price will be excessive, so that is against the tenets of competition.
We are hoping that very soon we will reach a point where we agree with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and resolve this issue once and for all.
As the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in school uniform manufacturing continues to grow, forcing parents to purchase uniforms from specific suppliers creates a significant barrier for these small businesses.
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