Deputy Dastan Bekeshev expressed a desire to soften the requirements for school uniforms, noting that in most educational institutions, the focus is on appearance rather than the content of education. He suggested that the Ministry of Education and the government grant schools the right to reconsider clothing requirements or adopt new regulations.
“The classic style of school uniform in Kyrgyzstan is a mandatory requirement. This is necessary to maintain discipline, create a business atmosphere, and ensure equality among students. According to the resolution, the uniform must adhere to the classic style and take into account weather conditions as well as the temperature regime in educational premises. All stakeholders participated in the development of the requirements: parents, students, experts, and representatives of the public,” Erkimbekov noted.
He also clarified that for boys, the uniform includes a shirt, vest, trousers, and jacket in various combinations made from solid fabric in black, gray, dark blue, or burgundy colors. For girls, the uniform includes a blouse, vest, skirt, trousers, dress, apron, and jacket, which can be made from either solid fabric or plaid. Acceptable colors for shirts are white, light gray, light blue, and light beige.
“We consider it inappropriate to force parents from socially vulnerable groups to purchase the uniform set by the school. In such cases, the option of 'light top and dark bottom' is possible,” he added.
Erkimbekov emphasized that the experience of other countries has shown that the abolition of the classic style can lead to various social and management problems. These include increased social inequality, the emergence of disciplinary disputes, and rising anxiety among adolescents due to fashion pressure. “Many countries that abolished the classic uniform faced risks of social stratification, which is why most of them chose flexible models, which we are also considering,” the official explained.
He also added that the ministry has no data indicating that schools require parents to purchase uniforms from a specific factory or organization to ensure that students look exactly the same.
According to Erkimbekov, the ministry takes into account the opinions of parents, and most of them support the classic style of school clothing, which is also confirmed by experts.
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