Trade Unions (TUs) attached to the education sector are up in arms over the Government’s plan to provide sewn school uniforms to students, terming it impractical.
The new Government has decided to provide sewn school uniforms to address inefficiencies in the current system.
Earlier this month, Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Hadunnetti announced the Government’s plan to provide sewn school uniforms during a ceremony held in Colombo.
As stated by the Minister, this plan aims to address inefficiencies and reduce unnecessary waste often associated with the current system.
Since 1992, the Ministry of Education has steadily distributed uniform fabric to students free of charge. From 2015 to 2020, this system shifted to issuing vouchers for school uniforms, before reverting in 2021 to providing fabric to ease the Government’s financial burden.
However, for the 2023 academic year, only 30% of uniform material was sourced from local manufacturers, while 70% was provided as a grant from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, the Government’s plan to provide sewn school uniforms has been criticised by TUs, as they argued that the plan overlooks more pressing issues facing Sri Lankan students, such as the financial strain on parents to buy school supplies.
The unions suggested reducing taxes on essential school items including exercise books to make them more affordable.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Education Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa said that there was no arrangement in place to provide readymade school uniforms to students for the upcoming academic year. However, he noted that this option may be considered in the future.
‘An impractical solution’
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin stressed that even though providing school uniforms was a good decision, providing sewn school uniforms was an impractical solution to the current issues, highlighting the logistical challenges of sewing uniforms for the large number of students in the country.
According to the Annual School Census of Sri Lanka Summary Report 2024 (2023), there are around 3.88 million students enrolled in 10,096 Government schools as of 2023. The Government’s plan also includes providing teachers with a locally manufactured piece of clothing annually.
Stalin dismissed this as another impractical idea, emphasising that the Government should prioritise resolving salary discrepancies and promotion-related issues, which he identified as the most urgent concerns for teachers.
These issues affect 237,787 teachers (and principals) of Government schools islandwide, as of 2023, according to the Annual School Census of Sri Lanka Summary Report 2024 (2023).
PRC grant plan
This plan began following the Cabinet of Ministers approving the proposal presented by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya as the Minister of Education, Science, and Technology earlier this month to accept a grant from the Government of the PRC for providing uniforms to all school students for the year 2025.
Sri Lanka received the first shipment of fabric under this grant on Tuesday (10), which aims to fully cover the uniform needs of public school students for the 2025 academic year.
Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong noted that a total of 11.82 million metres of fabric, valued at approximately Rs. 5.2 billion ($ 18 million), would be provided.