Schools across the UAE are set to welcome students back on Monday, 31 August, and parents are working through their back-to-school shopping lists.

One mother in Dubai has sparked a wider conversation about an expense she says is leaving families frustrated: the price of school uniforms. While shopping for her children, she questioned why basic schoolwear had become, in her words, so expensive.

She said two formal shirts, one for her daughter and one for her son, cost a total of AED 180 — clothing the children may well outgrow within a year. A pair of plain black PE trousers came to AED 110, and a simple grey school sweater carrying the school logo was priced at another AED 110.

For the mother, the issue was not whether she could afford the items but the principle of paying such sums for basic schoolwear, particularly at a time when school fees also fall due at the end of August.


(Source: Lovin Dubai)