Education Ministry will not impose school uniforms

The Education Ministry does not back the Academy of Sciences’ proposal to make the school uniform mandatory. The initiative was put up for public debates that involved institution heads, parents and students, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Deputy Minister of Education Tatiana Poting, the Ministry stated earlier its opinion on this proposal, specifying that the Education Law clearly says that every education establishment decides by itself whether to introduce a uniform or not. The deputy minister urged the administration of the schools to consult the students on the issue. Some of the high school heads consider the uniform is necessary as it prevents the social stratification of the children. They said the schools became fashion centers and the uniforms will stop this trend and will help save money on clothes. Sergiu Axinte, head of the Chisinau-based High School “Stefan cel Mare”, said most of the students at their school wear uniform and they consider it is a necessary element. “I know a case when a girl did not want to go to school because she did not have nice clothes as her classmates from wealthier families,” he said. Valentina Lungu, director of the Education Center “Pas cu Pas” (“Step by Step”), considers the uniforms should not be made an obligatory element and discrimination must be eliminated by promoting a friendly school. “The clothes create only the appearance. The child’s interior is more important. Each institution should decide by itself on the issue. A clothes culture should be developed among children,” she stated. The representatives of the Chisinau Local Council of Students and Youth said they are against school uniforms. A solution is to institute a dress code that must be respected. According to the students, the phrase ‘decent clothes’ that is stipulated in the regulations is understood differently. The students said the uniform will not eliminate discrimination among students as the children anyway know who and from what family comes. In September, the president of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Gheorghe Duca submitted an initiative to the Government, suggesting including the school uniform in preuniversity education institutions so as to make the students more disciplined.