Make school attire comfortable for our tropical climate

Time to get rid of ties, long-sleeve shirts, long pants as well as vests and jackets from the school attire for the sake of our students' comfort.

COMMENT

By Ravinder Singh

It may be politically correct for Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan to announce that schools may be closed if the heat wave persists, but is that all that politicians can think of doing?

Could the deputy minister first tell us why in a tropical climate such as ours, must our schoolchildren be dressed as though they are in a temperate climate instead?

Dressing should suit the climate and not be the other way round. For example, in the Middle East people protect their faces and eyes from sudden dust storms by covering their faces when outdoors. Similarly the Eskimos have to be in thick fur clothing day and night to shield themselves for the bone-chilling cold.

Our school boys used to attend school in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. This is the most comfortable outdoor wear for boys in the tropics. Further, this allows much freer movement as children don’t sit still when outdoors. They want to run about and play whether formal games or informal games of their own. The girls used to be in simple baju kurung or pinafores, without vests and jackets. Prefects used to wear a badge for identification of their status. Teachers used to be without ties and jackets, and some even in shorts with stockings.

Nowadays, everyone has to wear long pants, neckties and vests. Prefects may have to wear long sleeves and jackets. This makes for a lot of “style”, but what is the purpose of all this overdressing?

Is it to instil discipline in students? Yet, would anyone care to explain the widespread indiscipline in schools these days?

Is it to create the perception that our schools are as good as those in Europe, Japan, and similar countries? Care to explain then why our results do not prove this in any discernible way?

Providing students with all the accessories they require today – neckties, vests, jackets, long pants for boys – is surely a big money-earner for certain quarters but a severe financial constraint for parents and a great discomfort for schoolchildren who silently suffer discomfort in our warm climate.

Face the facts and address the issues head on. Make schoolchildren and teachers dress suitably for the tropics and keep the schools open. Go back to the days when schoolchildren used to be dressed more appropriately for school.

Air-conditioning as some would propose is not a practical solution as you cannot provide air-conditioning outdoors. If the world is getting warmer, we have to acclimatise ourselves to it because we cannot avoid venturing outdoors at some point of the day.

We should therefore be teaching our children to dress comfortably and not stylishly. Get rid of ties, long-sleeve shirts, vests and jackets. Teachers should set the example. This may not go down well with some quarters and even some parents, but let’s get practical.

Ravinder Singh is an FMT reader.