The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Some government schools in Thimphu have decided students shall wear T-shirts and shorts instead of tracksuits during Health and Physical Education (HPE) periods and annual sports days.
“The decision is the resolution of the teacher – parent meeting where the school management board resolved that students of Changzamtog Lower Secondary School shall wear T-shirt and shorts instead of tracksuits during HPE periods , the Changzamtog Lower Secondary School school’s principal said. “We shall again arrange similar consultation meetings with the parents though almost all parents agreed on it.”
According to the Deputy Chief Thromde Educational Officer, Namgay, “wearing of tracksuits in schools started after the Department of Youth and Sports (DYS) issued a letter, which said students could wear sports attire on the day they have HPE classes and sports activities considering the difficulties students face with school uniforms while playing games but it was never mentioned in the letter that tracksuits should be the sports uniform. Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School was the first school to introduce tracksuit as sports uniform followed by other government and private schools in Thimphu.”
Namgay also said, “it came to the notice of Thromde that most of the students were not just wearing tracksuits during HPE classes and sports day but also during morning assembly and other occasions. So we felt that there was need to remind and reinforce the rule in maintaining the dress code of the school. We wanted to make sure that not even one single student in Thimphu wears tracksuits but since this was not possible, we decided tracksuits shall be worn only during HPE classes and sports day that is only on Friday and Saturday”.
“Lately we received letters from some government schools, which said their students shall wear T-shirts and shorts instead of tracksuits which I believe is a good idea because T-shirts and shorts are more comfortable, he added.
In some schools like Jigme Losel Primary Schools and Lungtenphu Lower Secondary School, HPE classes were conducted wearing School uniform Gho and Kira. According to Choki Drukpa, principal of JLPS, “tracksuit was never introduced in the school during HPE classes because HPE classes for different schools vary depending on HPE schedules and since, JLPS is a primary school, HPE is all about skill development, which can be done in Gho and Kira”.
She added that students in other schools wear tracksuits during HPE classes because they have different HPE schedule which cannot be done in Gho and Kira. “But I would not agree that students were wearing tracksuits during morning assembly and other occasions. Maybe, different schools have HPE classes held at different hours and that may be the reason people perceived that the students were wearing tracksuits all day,” she said.
