Daily Black Immigrant News
Students will be allowed to wear a plain colored t-shirt or a plain colored polo shirt and jeans at the start of the new school year on Monday, September 19.
Alarmed by the challenges retailers face in supplying uniforms, Education, Technology and Vocational Training Minister Kay McConney announced today that the Ministry will ease the rules for students who cannot wear full uniform by 30 September.
“The Ministry of Education, Technology and Vocational Training has decided to ease the regulations of our school uniform policy until September 30, 2022, after which it will be reviewed.
“This means that if your child is unable to wear the full school uniform, new or reused, from the first day of school on September 19, he or she will be allowed to dress in a way suitable for school in a simple place. colored t-shirt or a plain colored polo shirt and a pair of jeans. Note that this relaxation is for a limited time until uniform fabrics are available,” Minister McConney announced.
The official start of the school year has not passed more than a week, but parents have expressed difficulties in obtaining uniform clothes as well as pre-prepared school uniforms.
The Minister of Education reported that vendors have informed her that the shortage of clothes has slowed down the production of uniforms.
“I have been told that several factors in the supply chain have contributed to the delay in uniform fabrics reaching Barbados – among them, the intermittent closure of several factories where the fabric is manufactured overseas; slow consolidation of shipments due to transportation challenges between multiple cities; and the shipping links that were stopped when a vessel bringing shipments to Barbados was delayed in obtaining berthing privileges at one of the transit sites in this region where it was supposed to stop before coming to Barbados. All of this is out of the control of Barbados, the Ministry of Education, the schools and our uniform manufacturers, retailers, tailors and tailors,” Minister McConney added.
She noted that the education chief will communicate with principals at the relevant schools so they can work with students, parents and carers to facilitate a smooth return to full face-to-face lessons.
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