The "sports kit" was imposed despite the suspension of the sports class
Private schools require students to wear uniforms during "distance education"
School administrations will not allow students to wear different clothes while attending interactive classes. Archives
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Relatives of students said that private schools in Abu Dhabi obligated them to buy sports uniforms as part of the school uniform, despite the decision to stop sports activities, as part of the precautionary measures for preventing the Corona virus.
They added that schools informed them to change the colors of school uniforms for the new school year, which would prevent them from benefiting from the uniform of the previous school year, even though their children did not use it.
They added that school administrations required students of the distance education system to wear uniforms while attending the interactive lessons, and refused to allow them to wear different clothes.
A private school director attributed the decision to change the color of the uniform to allowing the manufacturer to prepare sufficient quantities of it before the start of the new school year. Another school administration confirmed that the goal of selling sports uniforms is for students to be ready to resume school life in the event that it is decided to return to normal, pointing out that the current situation is "temporary".
In detail, a school administration in Abu Dhabi called on the families of its students to reserve the new uniform through the website, while the relatives of students confirmed that changing the uniform at this time, and imposing sports uniforms within the school uniform, contradict educational values, and reflect the culture of financial profit, which controls many departments Schoolwork.
They described the decisions as "exploitation of circumstances."
Parents of students, Ahmed Essam, Muhammad Salah, and Magda Ahmed said, "The school decided to change the colors of the school uniform to oblige us to buy the new uniform, without taking into account the circumstances that most families have gone through since the spread of the Corona pandemic, and the consequent stoppage of work and low income."
And they added: "School uniform is one of the annual burdens that families bear, especially with the transformation of school clothes to (business), which brings financial return for the school." They explained that "the school obliges us to buy the uniform from the outlet that it specifies, and it chooses colors that are not available in the market, in addition to preventing it from wearing any uniform that does not bear the school's logo."
The relatives of students, Muhammad Husam, Rabab Fadl and Yara Wael, confirmed that their children's school set the price of school uniforms at 420 dirhams. It prohibited the sale of individual pieces of the uniform except after purchasing the first set (trousers and shirt for school, trousers and T-shirt for sports).
They indicated that they had received letters from the school, stressing the necessity for remote education students to wear school uniforms while receiving their lessons, which makes the purchase of uniforms mandatory, noting that the school guaranteed its school uniform prices, reservation dates, and the choice between receiving it from the company’s outlet and delivering it to Home.
And students with students considered that “schools profit from selling uniforms, even though the materials from which they are made are not of good quality and are not commensurate with the prices at which they are sold, as its price ranges between 350 and 500 dirhams, although it is not equal to more than 100 dirhams at the best Conditions, due to its poor quality, and the presence of defects and problems in it, which forces them to fix it at their expense.
On the other hand, teachers and administrators in private schools, Nadia Fakhry, Sawsan Abdullah, Walaa Moussa, Farah Nader and Mona Shaban, attributed the decision to compel students to wear school uniforms during distance education classes, to educational and organizational measures, to help students feel that they are in the classroom. Especially since the lessons will be transferred from inside the classroom, and thus students inside the classes will see their colleagues who are in their homes, and vice versa as well.
The teachers and administrators explained that the decision to compel students to purchase a sports kit within the school uniform is caused by the school's contract with the manufacturer for an amount of uniforms, whether school or sports, and therefore they are obligated to allow this authority to sell sports sets within the uniform.
He noted that the decision to completely suspend sports activities and choose the distance education system is specific to the first semester only, and therefore students will need a uniform and sports uniform in the event that a vaccine for the "Covid-19" virus is discovered, and the educational system returns to normal.
On the other hand, an official at a private school in Abu Dhabi, who asked not to be named, said that the decision to change the color of the school uniform was agreed upon with the manufacturer of the uniform, more than six months before the students' families were informed of this.
He added that the aim of this procedure is to provide an opportunity for the uniform manufacturer to provide the designs, take approval for them, and start purchasing materials and manufacturing, denying that the goal of the school’s decision to change the uniform is to exploit the current circumstances and oblige students ’families to buy it.
Another school administration considered that the current situation in school life is a "temporary" circumstance, necessitated by the repercussions of the pandemic.
She explained that the goal of selling sports uniforms is for students to be ready to resume school life in the event that it is decided to return to normal, which is not excluded.
For its part, the Department of Education and Knowledge affirmed, in the school fees policy in the guide of private schools policies, its keenness to reject any school fees outside the framework of tuition fees, school uniform fees, and transportation.
She added that it will not allow the school to achieve excessive profits, so that the commercial interest prevails over the quality of education, noting the need for the school to obtain its approval for school fees, payment schedules, and payment procedures, before announcing them to parents, and before starting to collect them.
"Education and Knowledge": "We will not allow excessive profits to be achieved ... the commercial interest prevails over the quality of education."
Students:
"School decisions are inconsistent with educational values and reflect the culture of financial profit."
“Our obligation to dress reflects the school’s failure to take into account the conditions imposed by (Corona).”
"Schools profit from selling their uniforms, even though the material from which they are made is not good."
School administration:
"The aim of changing the color of the uniform is to give the manufacturer an opportunity to supply sufficient quantities."
"Selling sports uniforms to keep students ready to resume school life after the pandemic."