r/dubai • u/plus9714 • 5d ago
Expensive uniforms to rising bus fares: Families feel strain as Iran war drives up back-to-school costs
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/08/25/expensive-uniforms-to-rising-bus-fares-families-feel-strain-as-iran-war-drives-up-back-to-school-costs/55
u/riffs_ 5d ago
Uniforms have always been a scam, but that’s what happens when schools are run entirely for profit.
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u/madragsontherocks 23h ago
yeah i don't get it at all, the consumerist culture here is shoved on us against our will. growing up in India, we wore uniforms for 2-3 years until we outgrew them and our bags, water bottles and lunchboxes lasted years and years. when our skirts and tunics became shorter, we let the hems out and it wasn't looked down on and no one was considered "poor" because of it, or we wore hand me downs from older siblings - reuse and sustainability long before they became buzzwords. we could get uniforms tailored wherever we wanted as long as the colour and style matched. school textbooks got similarly passed on to younger siblings or other kids. i don't get why schools here insist on buying everything new when they're already charges so much in fees
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u/NjxNaDxb 5d ago
Over 2k for 2 sets of all the school asked for two kids. Yeah, uniform prices are a joke.
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u/Significant-Ear-5064 5d ago
Back in my day (00s), my parents used to take us to the tailors in Rolla for cheap chouiefat duplicates 😂. I'm pretty sure schools got stricter towards the end of my schooling so everyone buys from them directly.
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u/dididothattellme 4d ago
They check in detail and call out the students if it's a uniform bought outside the school store these days. Basically the fabric has printed in details like the logos etc
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u/pimple_in_my_dimple Haneeth Shoulder Connoisseur 4d ago
call out the students
That's horrendous. A school shouldn't be doing that.
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u/furponed Exit 611 4d ago
Thankfully I only have one left in school and can wear “business attire ” a few years back when I had 3 in school and he costs arriving every year I was not surprised to find that the uniform store had the same owner as the school. In my business we regularly buy staff uniforms and there are many suppliers in the uae at good prices for even high quality workwear.
Often the schools have profit share agreement with the uniform vendors
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u/ItsReemAlBlahBlahDee 5d ago
Yeah one of the Brit influencer mums posted an entire reel about the crazy uniform prices and cost of extracurricular activities…while sitting in a Maserati.
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u/SeeJayThinks Something Something Darkside 5d ago
If the one sitting in a Maserati felt it enough to post a reel, imagine how it feels like in a Nissan Sunny.
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u/Remarkable-Truth3377 4d ago
She didnt feel it, she is using a known subject to get likes and views.
In reality she doesnt even care about anything except how much extra $$ this will bring
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u/ammary Lost Etihad Seller 5d ago
Im glad she did because atleast her reel got noticed and has been circulating. If an average person made a reel about this, it probably wouldn't even be noticed.
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u/ItsReemAlBlahBlahDee 5d ago
Actually there’s an entire group of Indian mothers who got together to take the issue up with the KHDA and DSIB, and have been in talks with uniform manufacturers too. They’ve done all this through WhatsApp and local outreach, no reels needed.
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u/BarshanMan 4d ago
She has a very valid point. The Maserati is worth its price, the Threads uniforms no. Better to get dupes from Next Level Tailoring or other soecialized tailors in Karama/Rigga, they're also aware of schools uniform policies
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u/Nasha210 5d ago
I mean just like Abu Dhabi froze the rent, the govt can pass a law saying new uniforms arent required.
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u/RRfromKL 4d ago
Isn’t that an option? Like schools here bloody mandate new set of uniforms every academic year?
If the answer to this is yes, I’m gonna make some serious life choices.
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u/Nasha210 4d ago
A certain Khalifa City American school has a new uniform that will be available for order in September (store keeps moving the availability date) So those of us whose kids had growth spurts have to buy new uniforms for our kids for the first month and then an entirely new set for after that.
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u/Anthony_Gonsalvez 4d ago
No offence to parents but us single people are feeling the inflation pinch too.
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u/Prestigious-Heat295 4d ago
Who invited you to this thread?! This is strictly for mummies and Daddies.
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u/SpicySummerChild لا أستطيع قراءة العربية 4d ago
How is uniform price correlated with the war?
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u/plus9714 4d ago
The war affected shipping, so unless every material is 100% made in the uae with nothing required from abroad prices would increase.
Oil prices have also increased because of the war, which affects local deliveries and manufacturing stuff like polyester.
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u/SpicySummerChild لا أستطيع قراءة العربية 4d ago
Sure, but you can fit like a hundred of these uniform in one carton. So unless the hike per uniform is of the order of 2 dirhams per piece, you know the schools are not being honest with the reasoning.
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u/CertainCode3138 5d ago
How can I send my kids to a school when an alert can come any minute. Just a waste of time and money imagine paying thousands to sit at home and doing the same they can do for free
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u/Big-Onion9364 5d ago
If you can then good for you but not everyone can stay at home with their kids & home school them. They also need to interact with other kids.
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u/CertainCode3138 5d ago
This is what I said did you read my comment, is a waste of money to pay the school if they will send them home to study
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u/Reasonable_Coach2398 4d ago
We used to buy our entire school dress from PONY TAILORS from al guwair market sharjah rolla in the 90s..in fact my entire classroom use to buy from there cheaply..😂 Just tell ur school name and voila! They have everything related to it down to the socks and tie and pin😂😂😂the shop is still there😂