if students and parents allow it.Some schools have this tendency to try and fit all their students into a particular mould. According this malaysiakini story, this school wants their students to wear the same dress attire, never mind if it goes against their religious or cultural values.
Maybe it is the show of power or arrogance or is it just sheer lack of sensitivities? I guess some school pricipals like to see how far they can project their influence.
So it is up to parents to protect their own rights and not be bull-dozed by such bureacratic nonsense. Why force parents to spend extra for a costume that the children will not wear normally - simply to impress some VIPs?
If you just yield to such demands, your children will know that you do not have the guts to defend a basic right and your children may be affected by your complacency.
This is what happened to my son in a Singapore school that is well known for donation drives that seem to be a never ending process. He was in the final year of secondary school.
The students were asked to buy a book-mark for S$5 and he did not want to buy. The class teacher tried to persuade him a few times and still he refused. He was then referred to the teacher in charge of the whole cohort or perhaps it was the Assistant Principal. My son decided that he was not going to make any further donations and indirect references were made about "getting a good report" etc.
His class-mates were surprised at his resilience and many too did not want to pay but were too scared to decline.
Anyway he did not pay and finished at that premier school although the taste is a little sour. The report card was OK and enabled him to enter JC.
My wife and I decided to let him make that decision on the donation and we were quite proud that he stuck to his decision.
Photo: My old school in Ipoh. Thanks to http://www.hbp.usm.my/conservation/imagesJPG/images10/stmiciph.jpg
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