Fabrics of new Junior High School Uniforms introduced by the Ghana Education Service (GES) is yet to widely circulated.
The GES, early this year, announced at a press conference that, starting from the 2019/2020 academic year, JHS students would wear new school uniforms. The new uniform which is khaki skirt with a striped shirt for girls, and a pair of khaki shorts with a striped shirt for the boys is expected to replace the popular brown and yellow khaki uniforms which have been used for over 30 years now.
Although the management of the GES has said the production and sale of the materials is open to both local and foreign companies, just like any other uniform, it seems this has not been well communicated since the current situation of few dealers selling the fabrics seems to have restriction on their production and sale, leaving only few dealers to cashing in. However, the few places the materials are being sold seem to be enjoying good patronage, as parents have begun shopping for their children towards the new academic year that starts on September 10.
A few cloth and fabric dealers as well as shops that deal in different kinds of fabrics, including uniforms, at the Makola Shopping Mall and the Rawlings Park, both in the central business district (CBD) of Accra which also have outlets in Kumasi, are already taking advantage of the situation by stocking up to meet expected high demand in the coming days.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, most of the dealers indicated that, publicity on the new uniforms has been low and just small number of people have heard about it and believes a word from the management of the GES on the new uniforms will trigger patronage”.
Some dealers also indicated that, dealers have adopted an advertising plan by posting pictures of a boy and a girl in the new uniforms at visible places, while the shop attendants also move around the vicinity of the shops distributing flyers to create awareness of the availability of the materials in the shops since only few people know about it.
A parent, Ms Joan Antwi, she had expected the media to “make a lot of noise on them but nothing like that has been done. Had you not drawn my attention to them now, I’d have even forgotten about them” she said. She then pleaded with the government and the GES to educate parents as well as the public about the new uniforms and also the places allocated for its patronage to help make it easy for parents, and guardians.
