Parents battling to afford school uniforms for their children could be given relief after the Competition Commission ruled they be allowed to choose where to buy the clothing.

The announcement follows complaints by parents and some suppliers to the commission after schools forced parents for years to buy uniforms from specific shops.

The commission urged parents to report any "incident of non-compliance" with the ruling.

Department of Basic Education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga confirmed yesterday that the ruling had been communicated to the department.

"The department has worked with the commission on this matter and has agreed that adherence to the law is paramount.

"The school governing bodies (SGBs) are aware of their responsibilities as far as procurement of services is concerned," he said.

Mhlanga said all provincial education departments were expected to remind SGBs of their responsibilities and that the national department would ensure that the notice from the commission was widely distributed.

Eastern Cape education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said the province would implement the instruction.

Mtima said they had not received any complaints from schools on the matter.

The commission's spokesman Itumeleng Lesofe said complaints dated back to 2010.

"There have been complaints from various provinces. The notice is the essence of the resolution on the matter; there is no ruling against certain firms or any party."

The commission announced that a ruling had been made against schools signing agreements with private firms preventing parents from choosing where to buy uniforms.

The commission said this often resulted in parents not having a choice of suppliers when buying school uniforms and being charged high prices.

"The commission act prohibits firms from concluding agreements that may prevent competition and lead to high prices and lack of choice," it said.

A DBE circular sent to schools and education districts recommends that:

lSchool uniforms be generic so they are obtainable from any supplier;

lExclusivity be limited to items the school regards as necessary to obtain from preselected suppliers;

lSchools follow a competitive bidding process when appointing suppliers;

lSchools appoint more than one supplier to give parents more options; and

lAgreements concluded with suppliers should be of a limited duration.

East London high school principal Roy Hewitt said the judgement would be difficult to implement as supplying uniforms is expensive. He said even though it was possible to have many shops selling uniforms it could be tricky as it would require "someone willing to invest" in the business.

Federation of Governing Bodies of SA's Paul Colditz said: "We recommend that schools take steps to understand the competition risks likely to arise from the exclusive supply of school uniforms."