The state government has not taken any decision on changing students’ uniforms in “schools with heritage”, education minister Bratya Basu told the Assembly on Tuesday.
Basu came up with a clarification six months after the education department had announced that the colours of the students’ uniforms from pre-primary to Class VIII in all government, government-aided and government-sponsored schools would be navy blue and white and the shirt and the kameez will display the Biswa Bangla logo.
At Sanskrit Collegiate School, white shirts and olive green pants have been the uniform for 100 years. At Hare School, established in 1817, white shirts and black pants have been the uniform for over 75 years.
In response to a question from BJP MLAs on imposing new uniforms bearing the colours of the state government’s preference, Basu said: “The state government thinks that the decision to change the uniforms is in order. But we have not taken any such decision for schools with heritage.”
Basu cited examples of the BJP governments in Assam and Gujarat to defend a uniform colour scheme chosen for school students. “The Assam and Gujarat governments have issued notifications defining their uniforms,” he said.
It was not immediately known if the government would come up with a separate notification specifying that they had not taken any decision on changing the uniforms of schools with heritage.
It is also not clear how the state government will define ‘heritage’.
A text message to Basu went unanswered.
A government schoolteachers’ association had written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee in April asking her to reconsider the decision to introduce a common colour code for school uniforms as each reflects “the legacy” of the institution.