Parents, students welcome delay in ruling
SOME parents are relieved that the black shoe ruling for government schools will only be fully enforced in 2021, giving all relevant parties plenty of time to prepare.
Pleased with the delay, father of two daughters P. Puspanathan, 47, said it was a relief for middle and lower class families who recycle their shoes.
“Not everyone can afford to change the shoes at one go, especially if they have several children who are in school. The costs do add up.
“Parents do not have to rush to buy black shoes as the children can still wear white shoes until it is time to change,” he said.
Mother of five, Mary Wong, 45, was happy to learn of the delay for the ruling.
“All my children are in school so I am glad I can put off buying five new pairs of shoes at the end of the year,” she said.
Student Nurain Abd Hadi, 16, from a school in Klang said she would be able to “fully utilise” her white shoes before changing to black ones.
“It would be a waste to stop using my white shoes, which are still perfectly fine. I can wear them out then only change to new black shoes,” she said.
Elaine Tan, 17, from Petaling Jaya, Selangor, said she was sure her white shoes would be worn out by the time the ruling is enforced.
National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan said it is a good decision as the ruling is not done in haste.
“It is for the convenience of our students and their parents,” he said.
The Education Ministry said in a statement recently that all students in government schools are still allowed to wear white shoes till the end of the year 2020.
“This decision was made after the ministry took into account views and opinions from all parties, including the schools, teachers, parents, students, NGOs as well as suppliers,” said the ministry.
The ministry said schools should not implement new rules to force the black shoe ruling on students during the “transition period”.
Parents also should not rush their children to wear black shoes, the ministry added.