School uniforms to be cheaper

By Lee Kyung-min

Parents with middle- and high-school students will take some of the burden off on buying school uniforms as the price will be lowered through bidding, said the Ministry of Education Thursday.

Only public schools will be under this regulation.

The company with the lowest bid will be allowed to sell their clothing exclusively to the whole student body in any one school.

When this goes into effect, the ministry expects about 30 percent in price reduction of uniforms.

There will be a hearing to let the parents voice their opinions, and have the measure officially put in place schools by next month, an official said.

Low price doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality of the clothing would be compromised, he said.

Standardization guidelines from the government will help manage the quality of the uniforms, he added.

“The makers will have to use specific material and accessories designated in the guideline,” he said.

Students can evaluate the company through surveys.

Also, the ministry will implement a report system as a measure to prevent collaboration among the sellers.

The ministry plan to limit the number of designs of the pants and skirts nationwide to five or six, and allow the school to select jacket designs.