95bFM School uniform prices too high for many
29 April, 2026
Interview by Castor Chacko, adapted by Marlo Schorr-Kon
Concerns have been raised by some families over high school uniform prices, especially worrying amidst the cost of living crisis. Those who can’t afford the uniforms often take out loans, make sacrifices, or are forced to choose a different school, all things that can detrimentally affect a child’s education.
A recent study found that 20% of students felt that uniform cost was a concern for them and their families. Only half of these students, however, reported that they didn't pay upfront and needed extra financial support to be able to afford a uniform. This means that while high uniform costs are difficult for a fifth of families, some continue to bear the cost.
Lecturer in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Dr Johanna Reidy, told 95bFM's The Wire that a simple uniform for a secondary school student might be “between $80 to $200, and the more expensive uniforms can be anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000, but that tends to be more in the private sector.”
“The more different parts to a uniform, the more expensive it is, and also you might have uniforms that can only be bought from one place, so the more that you have uniforms that can only be sourced from one area, that tends to drive the cost up.”
Dr Reidy points out that part of a school uniform’s purpose is to reduce inequality in clothing among students, but high prices are undermining this principle.
“When we instituted free state education, the policymakers of the time noticed that some children were not turning up because they were ashamed of the clothes that they had to wear.”
“Uniforms are supposed to be affordable clothes that iron out the worst clothing differences that signal wealth or poverty, and at the moment, when there are students and families who can't afford a uniform, that very access that you are trying to achieve is being undermined.”
Dr Reidy says that the study found that some families who bought school uniforms were “going without in some other way.”
“People paying for uniforms is only half the story. We don't see the trade-offs and what they go without behind that decision.”
Uniform prices are also impacting the attendance of some students, Dr Reidy says.
“If they've only got one set of clothes, and they aren't laundered overnight, or they can't be dry in time, then they'll skip school.”
“It's concerning, given that one of the reasons we have uniforms in the first place is to increase access to education.”
“There are mechanisms within schools, like loan uniforms or hardship funds, however, these rely on people signaling that they are unable to afford uniforms, and some people are so ashamed of not being able to provide the basics for their child that they don't.”
“It's a really, really sensitive and tricky issue.”
