This might be a little late, I actually dismissed the idea of writing about this, until I remembered the student seating in front of me one day on a jeepney.

She's wearing an almost-fading brown t-shirt, light blue denims and dark brown closed-toe flats (you know, the popular translucent flats you see on some sidewalk stalls). Beside her is another girl in a private school uniform, perhaps her sister or friend.

Both of them are students. The first girl is, although dressed casually, is sporting a sling bag stuffed with books and other notebooks. Hard to believe at first, but she’s a school girl - a sample product of the new No Uniform Policy implemented on the start of classes.

The No Uniform Policy allows all public school students to attend classes without wearing the school's required uniform. It was DepEd's expansion of the president's early decision to exempt six year olds from wearing uniforms. It is mainly attributed to the decreasing number of grade school enrollees, one reason of which is the incapacity of parents to afford uniforms for their children.

I’m not being a bitch here. Looking at the girl once again, I think it would be better for her to change, back to her old uniform, back to what would make her decent. With her get-up like that, she’s more like going to Divisoria than to the campus, seriously. Fashionwise, the students cannot handle the new policy. And who knows what her classmates are wearing, by the way.

Are we so like becoming America, like the high school kids we see in movies? Anyway, having the students wear civilian clothes, especially that a new dress code will come up, can also breed discrimination soon, maybe fights that will deliberately start with just the fashion statement that could, or rather did, define the social status. Student A teases his classmates for his loose t-shirt, ripped jeans and tattered sneakers, picks on him and tells everyone how impoverished-looking Student B is. I know, I know, it’s a worst case situation, maybe some scene in a teeny bopper Western movie, but hey, that could happen.

And there’s the problem on wardrobe collections, something like checking out what’s new on your cabinet everyday. I remember the days when I’m off for another gimmick; I’d change my get-up a dozen times (resulting to a ravaged closet). If this happens occasionally, then how much more are those kids that go to school everyday? Don’t tell me that kids today still wear the first thing they pull out of their cabinet, and don’t tell me that teenagers don’t smell fashion trends.

Compare it with having a set of uniform that you can wear painlessly for six days. Having the same look everyday is the same as going to school hassle-free, practically speaking. The last things you can worry about are the accessories that could go with your plain skirt. Before I went to college, I hated the idea of wearing a uniform, but later I realized its advantage: its saving my clothes for better purposes.

The government’s reasons for setting this policy may be sensible and logical. Some parents can’t really afford to wear five sets of uniforms for their children, and so it is helpful. But then, there are detrimental effects needed to be realized, to sum it all in a few words: The No uniform policy can further degrade the status of public school students, much more the marginalized ratio in the society.

I think the real problem lies in the manufacturing of uniforms. I’m not an expert on this, but if parents have problems buying uniforms, then maybe the price is too high for them, exceeding their budget (I remember how we spent almost two thousand for four white blouses this semester, it is financially devastating). If only uniform manufacturers could cut down their prices, for the sake of clothing children with decent garb.

Let’s see after ten months. DepEd once responded to the new issue, saying, “try the No Uniform policy first before complaining.” Okay, we’ll try it, let’s just hope the kids won’t end in a runway.