Uniform issue solved: Vouchers to be sent to schools
View(s):Government school students will receive, as last year, vouchers to collect uniform material, an official said, ending weeks of uncertainty over whether uniform vouchers or material will be issued to them. With the country being plunged into a political turmoil, concerns were being raised over the delay in issuing the uniforms.
The Education Times learns that President Maithripala Sirisena has intervened to prevent a further delay and ordered officials to issue the vouchers. The post-October 26 Cabinet had earlier decided that uniform material should be given to students through schools as had been done before 2015.
However, after the decision was taken, the authorities realised that the process would need at least two more months and it would be February when the students would receive the material, the official said. The government also needed to appoint two technical committees to evaluate the tenders and award the contracts, but in view of the current crisis which has prevented the cabinet meeting being held, the process could be delayed further, he said.
The official said the Education Ministry officials had then brought the matter to the President’s attention and sought a solution.
Teacher unions and parents have also urged the authorities to distribute uniform material directly to students instead of giving them vouchers to collect the material from authorised traders.
The vouchers were ready to be issued at the end of the last term which ended on November 30, but due to the government’s decision to issue material through schools, they were held back. The official said the vouchers would be sent to the schools during the vacation period. Some 4.5 million students receive free school uniforms. -by Damith Wickremasekara