Are uniforms
\nsuch a necessity?<\/p>\n
I have lived in Indonesia for three years now, but it was not
\nlong after I arrived that the importance of a uniform here was
\nobvious. Everywhere I go in Jakarta, uniforms are proudly worn by
\nvarious groups of people. Whilst working as a volunteer both with
\na school sponsorship program in South Jakarta and overseeing a
\nfeeding program at a school in North Jakarta, I realized that
\nthis emphasis begins at an early age.<\/p>\n
It would seem that parents who can barely afford to educate
\ntheir children at all, are expected to find significant sums of
\nmoney to cover the cost of up to four uniforms a week for their
\nchildren. Parents will then keep their children from school if
\nthey cannot pay and children who do not have the official uniform
\nfor a particular day are too ashamed to come into school. This
\ncan even be the case if uniforms have been lost in a kampung
\nfire.<\/p>\n
I also find it alarming that some teachers seem to be selling
\nuniforms on the side. In some countries around the world such as
\nAmerica and Norway, school children need no uniform at all. My
\nchildren attend a British school, where they have one uniform for
\nstudy and one for physical education. In a hot country like
\nIndonesia only one uniform set would be required since clothing
\ncan easily be dried overnight. Maybe in some families more than
\none child would be able to go to school if the financial burden
\nof uniforms were not so great.<\/p>\n
When I have spoken to local friends about this issue, they
\nrespond by saying that this is a tradition that goes back many
\nyears. True, uniforms can help to promote unity among a group of
\npeople, but surely one per week would be sufficient. One's self
\nas an individual is also important for young people to
\nunderstand. I believe that it the responsibility of the teachers
\nand school officials to dilute the importance of uniforms. Maybe,
\nstart by having one day a week when all children come to school
\nin anything they please. Surely it is better to come to school
\ndressed in anything you happen to have, than to receive no
\neducation at all?<\/p>\n
Now school books, that's another sorry story.<\/p>\n
CAROL HODGKISS<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/are-uniforms-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }