School uniforms have joined the list of tuition fees and textbooks in pushing parents' stretched budgets to bursting point through exponential cost increases
School uniforms have joined the list of tuition fees and textbooks in pushing parents' stretched budgets to bursting point through exponential cost increases
If the double whammy of arbitrary hikes in school fees and the phenomenal increase in prices of textbooks wasn't enough, parents of school-going children have now been saddled with an additional expense. And the culprit this time is the innocuous school uniform.u00a0Suppliers across the city have hiked the price of each set of uniform (shirt and trouser/blouse and skirt) from an average of Rs 500 to nearly Rs 800 for this academic year. They attribute the more than 50-per cent hike to the astronomical rise in the cost of yarn, which has more than doubled since last year. 
In a quandary: Dilip Jain, a shopkeeper who retails school uniforms in
Mazgaon, says that suppliers are in a dilemma as parents refuse to believe
that they too are incurring higher costs owing to the increase in cost for
raw materials. Pic/Santosh Nagwekar
From Rs 185 per kg in August, 2010, yarn prices climbed to an all-time high of Rs 240 per kg in November and are currently sitting pretty at close to Rs 400. Suppliers, who have not seen yarn prices rise more than Rs 10 or so in a year for the last forty years, say the sudden increase has given them the shock of their lives.
The worst affected are parents, however, who are even hinting at a nexus between schools and uniform suppliers. "School fees increase exponentially every year and this time we have had to deal with the cost of textbooks going through the roof as well. How do they expect us to afford to spend so much on our children's education? For all you know, schools and uniform suppliers have decided at an inflated price and are divvying up the spoils," said a concerned parent.
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Catch-22
Suppliers who took orders for uniforms before the price of yarn went up say they are caught between the devil and the deep sea. "We cannot back out from fulfilling our commitment as the uniforms that have already been made will go waste. At the same time, parents and schools are refusing to believe that yarn prices have gone up as much as they have and are unwilling to give us the full amount. We have no choice but to bear a loss one way or the other," said a supplier.
Dilip Jain, owner of M10 uniforms in Mazgaon, said, "I have never seen such an increase in the cost of yarn and this has put suppliers like me in a dilemma. I am having to bear a loss as parents are refusing to believe that we are incurring higher costs in making the uniforms. They can believe the hike in prices of gold and buy expensive clothes, but they refuse to shell out a little more money for their child's uniform." "Besides the cost of yarn, the cost of stitching, dyeing and labour has also increased because uniforms are getting more trendy every year,"
he added.
Shaikh Imtiyaz, proprietor of New Sangam Cloth Store in Matunga, echoed Jain's views. "I have seen yarn prices go up by Rs 2-5 every year and such an increase is unprecedented. Even the cloth made of China yarn has gone up to Rs 26 per metre from Rs 16 earlier. As a parent myself, I can sympathise because I, too, had to go to a store designated by the school to get my daughter's uniform, which cost me nearly double of what it did last year. At the same time, I know that the shopkeeper can't really help selling the uniform at a higher price than before."
Ashok Vishandas Kotak, manager and owner, V Kotak & Co said, "Yarn cost less than Rs 200 per kg last year and now it costs close to Rs 400 per kg. In my 40 years in this business, I have never seen a hike this astronomical. It is difficult to convince parents that we are just recovering our costs and are not out to loot them."
Concerned Voices
"I bought one set of uniform for my son at a high price when he was in Std I last year and, looking at the higher prices this year, I will make him use it for at least one more year. You cannot rule out a nexus between schools and suppliers when the price rise is so astronomical."
--u00a0Dinesh Tarfe, who has a son studying in an Andheri school
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"I know the price of yarn has gone up like it has for other commodities and I understand that parents will have to bear the increased cost. It would help, however, if we did not have to pay for the commission that schools charge for making parents buy uniforms from a particular store alone."u00a0u00a0
-- Susham Shewale, who has a child studying in a school in the western suburbs
Schools' take
Michael Pinto, principal, Holy Name High School, Colaba, said, "We order uniforms only for kindergarten students and those from other grades are asked to buy them from outside. We had ordered uniforms for KG students at Rs 400 each last year and if the prices have gone up so much, we will convey the same to the parents."
Hanif Kanjer, director, Rustomjee Cambridge International School, said, "I am not aware of yarn prices going up or of the effect they may have had on the price of uniforms. However, since we don't procure uniforms or ask parents to buy it from a particular store only, we will not be burdened with giving them an explanation."
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