Parents struggle to find new uniforms before classes start

FUJAIRAH // A lack of stock and of sizes for the new standardised school uniform is causing a headache for parents and children living on the east coast.

With classes at government schools due to resume for thousands of youngsters on Sunday, parents have complained that there aren’t enough of the new-look uniforms, supplied by the Ministry of Education for boys and girls, to go around.

The outfits should be available for collection at Al Massa School in Dibba, the Applied Technology High School in Fujairah and Merbeh Sports club in Merbeh, but parents have reported long queues and chaotic scenes as mums jostle with each other to find the correct sizes for their children.

“I appreciate this initiative from the ministry but it’s not working as they hoped, we have one distribution point in Fujairah City and its crowded,” said Ahlam Al Hassan, a 39-year-old Emirati with three daughters.

“My daughters all need uniforms. I managed to find on for one of them, but I’m still waiting for the bigger sizes. I went to Merbeh, but I also didn’t find one there.”​

Ms Al Hassan said she would send her daughters to school in their regular clothes if she could not find the right sizes.

Fourteen distribution points have been set up around the country to provide the uniforms, which cost Dh275 for secondary pupils, Dh110 for primary pupils and Dh57 for kindergarten.

The outfits consist of a shirt, long skirt and a jacket for girls while boys wear a traditional-style kandura, all featuring the MoE’s logo.

Families, who in previous years had their children’s uniforms made at a local tailor’s, have been left stressed by the new rules that came into force ahead of the new school year.

Ahmad Khalifa, a Syrian teacher and father of four, has visited the uniform collection point in Fujairah three times since last Thursday and failed to find the right sizes for his children.

“They keep telling me to come tomorrow and we will provide you with the exact size, but I’m still trying,” said the 43-year-old, adding the price of the new uniform is higher than having it made by a tailor.

“For me, the uniform now is much more expensive than before. I need to pay around Dh800 for the four of them, which includes one uniform each. For the price of one new uniform, we used to design them each two sets.”

Tailor shops that relied on the influx of parents looking for new school outfits for their children have reported a big drop in profits this year,

“The season is destroyed and this decision has affected our business,” said Mahfooz Khan, an Indian who works at the Sogat tailor’s shop in Fujairah.

“Our shop lost thousands of dirhams because of this decision. People are complaining about the quality and the sizes of the new uniforms. They come to me to fix the length and width,” said the 40-year-old, adding his shop used to charge parents Dh80-90 to make a child’s uniform.

The MoE and the Fujairah Education Zone were unavailable for comment.

According to the MoE’s website, “the standardisation of academic and sports uniforms in public schools is being enforced to visually highlight the UAE’s national and cultural identity”.

The new uniforms will be available throughout the school year.