Khanh Hoa has requested all public school students to wear a uniform of blue pants or skirts and white shirts. The local authorities also stipulate that schools must not create their own uniforms or include accessories like ties, colored sleeve cuffs, collars, or shoulder patches. Notably, schools are prohibited from organizing any form of student uniform tailoring or sales services.

The policy has been widely supported by parents across the country, as it could ease the financial burden on parents. Students can also reuse the uniforms from peers at different schools, helping to cut costs.

Le Thu Ha, a parent in Hanoi, said that when the new academic year begins, parents have to pay numerous expenses, including school uniforms. In just three years of secondary school, her daughter had to buy new uniforms twice as the school changed the design.

“When the school changes principals, they change the uniform design, and parents struggle to keep up. Last year’s uniform is still brand new, but we have to discard it and cannot reuse it. We also cannot use the uniforms of her peers, because there are school logos on the shirts,” she explained.

In some cases, when a student’s shirt gets dirty, parents want to buy an extra shirt while keeping the skirt for continued use. However, schools often don’t sell items separately, requiring parents to buy a full set, which is wasteful.

Nguyen Thu Thao, a Hanoi parent with a child starting grade six, was overwhelmed by the school’s uniform list. The school required 18 different uniform items, including: summer sports set (2 shirts, 1 pair of shorts), 2 summer short-sleeve sets, 2 pairs of long dress pants, 2 pairs of long sports pants, 1 pair of long fleece pants, 1 vest, 1 white shirt, 2 long-sleeve sports shirts, 1 jacket, and 1 hoodie. The total cost for uniforms alone was VND3.6 million.

“The school didn’t specify the cost of each item, but on average, each piece is about VND200,000,” Thao said.

She noted that her child is required to wear uniforms every day, and wear specific uniforms for each day. For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, students must wear shorts and short-sleeve shirts; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, collared T-shirts are required. On days with Physical Education, students must switch to sports uniforms.

“Some uniforms haven’t even been worn yet. My child is growing, and the uniforms bought this year might not fit next year. But I still have to buy them if they’re needed in the second semester,” Thao said.

Purchasing 18 uniform items as required, Thao still had to buy an additional pair of sports shorts because her child sometimes has Physical Education on consecutive days, and the shorts don’t dry in time.

“There are too many issues with having so many types of uniforms. Uniforms are supposed to simplify and save costs, but now they’re wasteful and a significant expense,” she said.

Cost-effective

Both Ha and Thao hope for a standardized uniform across provinces or even nationwide. “If so, good-quality used uniforms can be passed down to younger students or donated to children in disadvantaged areas. Parents with children in different grades would also have less to worry about, as clean, usable uniforms could be reused without waste,” Ha said.

If a single design of uniform is applied, parents suggested that uniforms should be widely available for purchase outside schools. Parents could buy them anywhere as long as they meet the required design. Schools should only sell logos separately for parents to attach or remove when donating uniforms.

Nguyen Quoc Binh, Principal of Luong The Vinh Secondary and High School in Hanoi, also expressed a desire for a nationwide standardized uniform.

“Having a uniform standard would be aesthetically pleasing and cohesive, and it would reduce costs for families with multiple children,” Binh said.

Binh, who has been to many countries including Japan, Singapore, and Australia, noted that these nations require students to wear uniforms but specify certain designs and colors.

Binh believes that school uniforms help prevent students from feeling inferior due to wealth disparities. If students could dress freely, wealthier families might dress their children in trendy outfits, while poorer families opt for simpler clothing, creating disparities within the same classroom. This could also lead to students pressuring parents to buy fashionable clothes to compete with classmates.

Thuy Nga