The Superintendent of the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS), James A.S. Momoh, following a meeting held on Friday with the MCSS principals and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), as well as the MCSS Teachers’ Association, has issued a directive prohibiting schools from prescribing uniform dealers to parents or compelling them to buy uniforms directly from the schools.
According to Superintendent Momoh, the decision is intended to protect students as well as parents from exploitation. Superintendent Momoh said that a circular has been sent out prohibiting all MCSS schools from undertaking any sale or prescription of sellers of school uniforms to parents.
He said education is one of the major pillars of the ARREST agenda, therefore anything that hinders the rights of the children from going to school will be a contradiction of the agenda.
Superintendent Momoh is requesting that all MCSS schools get the samples of their uniforms on campus for parents or students to see and buy the same cloth to sew their exact-prescribed uniform.
He further emphasized that no MCSS school should prescribe a specific supplier of school uniform or any other materials for the parent or guardian.
“We stated that the right of every child to free and compulsory basic education is enshrined in the Constitution. The position of the MCSS is that any measure that has the effect of preventing children from going to school would be a contravention of this right.
The new MCSS superintendent said his utmost objective is to bridge the gap between high school and college education. He said he thinks that most of the students graduating from high school now a days are not adequately prepared for college education, and the way to achieve this is not to prevent school-going children from school because of the high cost of uniforms.
Momoh said effective immediately, beginning next academic year, there shall be absolutely no mandatory sale and purchase of uniforms, and no parent or student shall be directed to any particular outlet for the purpose of purchasing uniforms and boarding-related items whatsoever.
It was unanimously agreed upon by all the MCSS stakeholders that the very tin obsolete design of uniforms that were introduced and sold to students by the immediate past administration be changed to the previous, regular MCSS uniform.
Meanwhile, the Central Administration said they will ensure that all campuses have samples of the required uniformโs texture and color and the specified skirt length (3ft below the knee, depending on the height) for female students.
