London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

E-learning in UAE: Are parents actually saving money on uniforms, school supplies?

E-learning in UAE: Are parents actually saving money on uniforms, school supplies?

As things stand, wearing uniforms is not compulsory for attending online classes

With many parents opting for distance learning for their children when schools reopen on Sunday, one question that is doing the rounds is whether they are saving on uniforms and school supplies. As things stand, wearing school uniform is not compulsory while attending online classes.

Jamela, who enrolled her son in Grade 1 at an Indian school in Sharjah, told Gulf News she has saved at least Dh500 from not buying new school uniforms and supplies for now.

“One school uniform set comes for Dh80. You also have to buy a few undershirts, a tie, shoes and pair of socks, plus a school bag and lunch box – the total would be around Dh500. But since classes will only be online, we did not spend on any of this,” shared Jamela, adding: “It’s a small amount but a big help especially in times like these when every dirham counts.”

School uniform is not mandatory for online classes, but students are required to wear smart casuals.


Parents buying school books at the Al Munna Bookshop


Sheela Menon, principal at Ambassador School Dubai, where more than 80 per cent of parents opted for distance learning, said: “During online learning we don’t insist on school uniform but the general setup should resemble a classroom and there will still be proper routine for students.”

Some other parents, however, have complained that schools have already charged them for school uniforms, in anticipation of conducting face-to-face classes in the second term.

An Indian mother whose son attends a British school in Sharjah said she paid Dh450 in uniform fees last week. “My son is doing distance learning for the first term and I thought I could pay for the uniform in the second term but the school has charged upfront. I had been hoping to save this money for some current expenses,” she noted.

Another parent told Gulf News whatever savings she got from not buying school uniform and supplies went to hiring a nanny for her daughter and stocking up on face masks and hygiene kits.

Afrin, a mother of an incoming Grade 2 student in Dubai, said: “In our case, not spending on stationery, school bus, after-school day care etc. has not accounted for any kind of saving as we ended up hiring a nanny to take care of our daughter.”

“On top of our ‘usual’ expenses, we also had to buy face masks, hand santisers and other hygiene kits. We opted for 100 per cent e-learning, but my husband and I are both full-time working parents and our expenses have been almost the same at the end of the month,” Afrin explained.

Uniform suppliers too had a mixed response.

“Because of the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it was not a good start to what should have a busy academic year for sales of school apparel,” said Ahmed Ruhel, a staff at Ladies Corner Trading, a popular retailer of school uniforms located in Karama.

“We have seen around 80 per cent decline in sales of school uniforms compared to last year,” he added.

However, Bethel Ann Tesado, a sales staff at Threads Burjuman, a school supplier, told Gulf News that sales have picked up over the past few weeks, making up for the previous months.

“We are actually hiring sales assistants and IT executives. We have ready-to-wear uniforms from China and customised uniforms stitched at our workshop in Jebel Ali,” she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×