GOVT SCHOOL STUDENTS TO DON NEW UNIFORM
The decision has been taken to ensure govt school students do not feel inferior
The students of government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh will soon get a smarter red and brown uniform which will replace the old khaki attire that was in use for the last five years. The boys will wear brown trousers and red coloured check shirt with a brown collar while the younger girls will sport brown skirt and a red top with a brown collar. At the senior level, girl students will wear brown salwar, red kurta with a brown dupatta. Minister of state for basic education Anupama Jaiswal unveiled the new school uniform in Lucknow on Tuesday.
The students of government-run schools in Uttar Pradesh will soon get a smarter red and brown uniform which will replace the old khaki attire that was in use for the last five years.
The boys will wear brown trousers and red coloured check shirt with a brown collar while the younger girls will sport brown skirt and a red top with a brown collar. At the senior level, girl students will wear brown salwar, red kurta with a brown dupatta.
Minister of state for basic education Anupama Jaiswal unveiled the new school uniform in Lucknow on Tuesday.
“The decision to introduce bright colours in uniform was taken to ensure the students of government schools do not feel inferior to their counterparts in private institutions who wear more vibrant colours,” an official said. Earlier, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had expressed unhappiness over the khaki uniform, saying it resembled that of a home guard jawan than that of a school student. “It was felt that a bright choice of colour for the uniform will help boost confidence of students and make them take pride in the school dress that they wear,” an official said.
The idea was put before the CM during a presentation in Lucknow on April 3 after which the government decided to replace the old khaki uniform.
The decision annuls the 2012 move by the Akhilesh Yadav government that introduced khaki replacing the decades-old navy blue shorts/trousers for boys and skirts/salwar paired with sky blue shirts/tunics for girls.
The move is part of the new BJP government’s reforms that aim to clean up the state’s education sector.
It will impact an estimated 1.85 crore students in over 1 lakh government-run primary and more than 45,000 upper primary schools in 75 districts of the state.
“We floated the idea for change in the uniform’s colour in UP government schools as there were many adverse views on the khaki colour,” an official at basic education department said. Several teachers had said the choice of khaki colour for school uniform was a poor one and the government went ahead with it despite opposition from parents, teachers and even students at the time. “We had opposed the khaki colour uniform in 2012 when it was implemented. We had pointed out that children may also lack confidence owing to it. However, all our reservations were completely ignored,” said Devendra Srivastava, district president of the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh.
The CM is said to be keen to roll out the BJP’s promise to provide free books, uniform, shoes and school bags to all poor students from July 1 to 10.
THE MOVE IS PART OF THE NEW BJP GOVERNMENT’S REFORMS THAT AIM TO CLEAN UP THE STATE’S EDUCATION SECTOR.