School Governor Supplies School Uniforms

Tuesday 15th of July 2008 06:17:53 AM

Perry Beeches Secondary School, in Great Barr, Birmingham is a school that requires its students to wear uniforms. The problem that many parents are having with it is that they are claiming that a school governor is abusing his position by promoting his clothing business in the classroom. Whilst the school says it recommends several different shops and supermarkets, parents claim that the governor is claiming that his shop is the sole supplier of the uniforms. Indeed the school has named Dalvinder Gogna’s clothing store as one of its specialist school uniform suppliers.

One angry dad commented, “Of course, we need to buy the school uniform, but I feel it is outrageous that we can only buy it from this one shop. When I asked a man at the school on the open night if I could buy it anywhere else, I was told that was not possible at all. The only information I was given by the school promoted Gogna’s shop, and Gogna’s shop only. It seems like a complete conflict of interest, if you ask me.”

Mr. Gogna, 38, was approached by the Sunday Mercury at his shop in Handsworth. He insisted that parents could only purchase the uniform from his shop and denied that there was any conflict of interest.

When a Mercury reporter posed as a parent and repeatedly asked if he was the only supplier of the Perry Beeches school uniform, Mr Gogna replied, “Yes, as far as I know, I am the only supplier of this uniform. You cannot purchase it from anywhere else. We are the only firm that attends Perry Beeches induction day. I am not sure about which other companies supply the school uniform for Perry Beeches. The fact that we supply Perry Beeches has nothing to do with me being a governor at the school. It’s not a conflict of interests as we have been supplying the uniform for years and I became a governor just over a year ago. I joined the school as a governor because I know the school well, and the parents.”

According to a spokesman for Birmingham City Council, “School uniform policy is at the discretion of each individual school and we can only give them guidance on the matter. But in the case of Mr Gogna, he has to declare his interest each time the topic of school uniform comes up at governors’ meetings, just as MPs and councillors do, and each time it does he leaves the meeting until the matter has been discussed in full.”