'Shocked' with the list of school uniforms with dozens of items costing more than 3 million VND

As a parent of a primary school student in Hanoi , when her child just started the new school year, Ms. Thu Hien "sweat" when looking at the list of uniforms for her child. The list of clothes to buy does not stop at a few basic items such as shirts, pants or skirts, the school also stipulates that each type of clothing can only be worn on certain days of the week.

“This year, I have to buy summer shirts, dresses, short-sleeved and long-sleeved polo shirts, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, sweater vests, sweatshirts, vests, summer sportswear , long sportswear… In total, there are dozens of items, while the price of each item is not cheap,” said Ms. Hien.

Specifically, summer shirts, long-sleeved polo shirts, and sweater vests all cost 300,000 VND; skirts and pants 320,000 VND; long-sleeved shirts 350,000 VND; fleece jackets 500,000 VND; and vests 650,000 VND. In total, she had to spend about 3.3 million VND on her children's uniforms alone.

Even though she buys so much, Ms. Hien said that there are times when her child has nothing to wear to school. The reason is because the school uniform schedule is very rigid. For example, on Mondays, the child must wear a shirt and skirt; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the child must wear a polo shirt; on Wednesdays and Fridays, the child must wear a sports outfit. On the last Friday of the month, the child will wear clothes based on a theme, such as pajamas, crop tops or floral themes.

“During the rainy season in Hanoi, clothes never dry, and if they get wet for just one or two days, there will be nothing to wear. Mom has to buy extra shirts or polo shirts,” Hien said.

So in addition to the 3.3 million VND spent on uniforms bought at the beginning of the year, Ms. Hien had to spend an additional amount to buy spare uniforms. Meanwhile, there are outfits that are rarely used, even worn only a few times a year and then hung in the closet such as vests, vests...

“After a while, my child grew taller, and many sets of clothes were thrown away because they didn’t fit and couldn’t be reused. This was a waste, and had no benefit other than meeting the school’s requirements,” said Ms. Hien.

The list of uniforms and supplies to buy for her children made Ms. Thu Hien "sweat". *Photo: NVCC*

Recently, when reading the news that the Khanh Hoa Department of Education and Training requested public schools to implement a unified traditional school uniform, not making separate uniforms for each school, Ms. Hien said that this was a reasonable policy, and at the same time hoped that Hanoi could also apply it.

“Making uniforms simple and consistent throughout the area not only helps save money but also reduces the pressure of “the beginning of the year is autumn” with countless different types of fees. When the financial burden is reduced, parents will have more conditions to focus on other important things, such as training life skills, preparing their children mentally and physically for the new school year,” this parent shared.

However, she still supports students wearing uniforms. This will bring uniformity, avoid comparisons, and demonstrate team spirit. However, according to her, uniform regulations should be more concise. Instead of “splitting” uniforms into many types for each day, each subject, each occasion, there should only be one summer uniform model and one winter uniform model.

In addition, localities should keep a basic uniform model for many years, without changing the style or color so that parents can take advantage of it for their second or third children or buy second-hand items from other parents.

“Schools should not have too detailed regulations for each day, so that students can wear them in rotation, avoiding the situation where clothes have not had time to be washed and dried.

In addition, schools should allow parents to sew or buy them outside, as long as they are the right model and color, instead of requiring them to buy them at school.

Schools should also cut down on rarely used uniforms such as vests or wool vests - which are only worn a few times a year, mainly for taking photos," said Ms. Hien.

This mother believes that if uniform regulations are simplified, appropriate and flexible, wearing uniforms will both achieve the goal of uniformity and save costs for parents, avoiding the "shocks" at the beginning of the year that make "each time buying a uniform for your child feel like buying a new wardrobe for the whole family".

*Character names have been changed

The cost of uniforms at the beginning of the school year is up to 3.6 million, parents expect it to be only '1 set, 1 model' . After Khanh Hoa province issued a policy for students in the entire province to wear the same blue pants and white shirt uniform, many parents and teachers hope this will be replicated nationwide.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/soc-voi-danh-sach-dong-phuc-hoc-sinh-hang-chuc-mon-do-hon-3-trieu-dong-2432510.html