Parents make a beeline for school uniform stores

Dubai: Hundreds of parents swarmed into centres designated by the Ministry of Education to purchase public school uniforms on Thursday ahead of the new school year.

The ministry had announced earlier that the uniforms would go on sale from August 20 to 29.

The ministry has designated 14 centres across the UAE to make the purchasing process easier for parents.

On the first day of sales, the ministry said the stores witnessed a rush of buyers, especially early in the day.

Given the huge demand, the ministry urged parents to restrict their purchases to two pieces of each item per child to ensure that everyone was able to buy a uniform for the school year, which will start on August 30.

Six new centres will also be open through the year to meet the massive demand.

The ministry commended student volunteers who stepped up to help parents in the uniform distribution process.

Emirati parent Fatima Numan, who has three children, visited the Manar Model School in Sharjah, one of the designated points of sale, and expressed satisfaction with the distribution process, which she said was well organised.

“I visited the centre in the morning and there weren’t many people, so I was able to buy the items I need quickly. It was nice to see the students take part in the distribution process. It is much [better] organised this year than last year,” she said.

Another Emirati mother, Salwa Al Ali, also said the sale of uniforms at the Dubai centre, which is located in Asma’a Bint Al No’uman School for secondary education, was smooth.

“The venues chosen by the ministry where spacious, the student volunteers were very helpful and so I had an overall good experience,” Salwa said.

Salwa also said she liked the new uniforms, which the ministry said had been designed to embody the UAE’s national identity. She said the prices set by the ministry were very reasonable and that the more expensive items were optional.

The centres will be open from 10 am to 8.30 pm and will cater exclusively to women on Sundays and Wednesdays.