The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Friday announced it has issued show-cause notices to 17 major private school systems for allegedly forcing parents to buy branded stationary and uniforms from exclusive authorized vendors.
In a statement, the CCP said it had taken the action to “safeguard millions of school-going children and their families from unfair pricing practices.” Clarifying that the enforcement action follows a detailed suo motu inquiry initiated on the basis of numerous complaints from parents, guardians, and other stakeholders, it said the complainants had alleged “arbitrary fee hikes, non-transparent selling practices, and the bundling of mandatory branded school supplies, effectively leaving families with no choice but to purchase these items at inflated prices.”
Listing the school systems served notices, the CCP said they included the Beaconhouse School System, The City School, Headstart, Lahore Grammar School, Froebel’s, Roots International, Roots Millennium, KIPS, Allied Schools, Super Nova, Dar-e-Arqam, STEP School, Westminster International, United Charter School, The Smart School, among others. “These school networks operate hundreds of campuses nationwide and collectively educate millions of students, giving them considerable influence over enrolled families,” it said.
The CCP said its inquiry had found parents were required to purchase logo-bearing notebooks, workbooks, uniforms, and other ancillary school products from exclusive school-authorized outlets. “In several instances, schools sold compulsory ‘study packs’ through online portals or designated vendors, with students prohibited from using generic notebooks or uniforms from the open market,” it said.
The CCP defined the relevant markets as, firstly, the provision of education services to enrolled students, where each school enjoyed a 100% market share, making students “captive consumers”; and secondly, the market for ancillary school products, the “tied market.” It noted that the inquiry had found many study packs were up to “280%” more expensive than similar items in the open market. It said several school systems also made continued enrollment conditional upon purchasing secondary products such as notebooks and uniforms.
The exclusive vendors, the CCP explained, foreclosed the market for thousands of small stationery and uniform sellers nationwide. It said mandatory branded supplies and restrictive trading conditions violated sections 4(1) and 4(2)(a) of the Competition Act, 2010. “High switching costs, such as limited school options, substantial transfer fees, and transportation constraints left parents with no viable alternative, enabling schools to enforce these practices without resistance,” it said, noting these practices “restricted market access, harmed small retailers, and limited consumer choice across Pakistan.”
Noting that private educational institutions accounted for nearly half of all enrollments in Pakistan, it said the burden of overpriced branded materials on families raised concerns about excessive commercialization within the education sector. It said the 17 school systems were directed to submit written responses within 14 days, appear before the commission through duly authorized representatives, and explain why enforcement orders under Section 31 and penalties under Section 38 should not be imposed. Failure to comply may result in ex-parte proceedings, it warned.