Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — With several principals of girls' schools objecting to the new uniform rules set by the Ministry of Education, families of girl students find themselves in a bind. Parents have expressed their dismay over the situation where principals of schools are insisting that students wear the old uniform while they have already purchased new uniforms as per the ministry's directive. Only ten days into the new semester, the principal of a school has threatened female students wearing the new ministry-mandated uniform, Al-Hayat reported. According to witnesses, the principal in question ordered students to wear their old school uniforms and has punished girls for wearing the new one. The mother of a high school student explained that her daughter is now on the schools' list of violators simply because she wore the new blouse and skirt uniform. She said the school principal verbally threatened her daughter to stop wearing the new uniform or she would be forced to sign a written document committing not to wear it again. One mother, Najlaa Mohammed, asked if there was a solution to the situation, especially after families had spent money to buy the new uniforms. “This will affect low-income families, especially if there are more girls in the family,” she said. Another parent, Mohammed Abdullah, called on the ministry to clarify its position, and said that reaction of some principals to the decision was unacceptable from educational leaders. Media spokesman at the Education Ministry, Abdulmajeed Al-Ghamdi, condemned the move by some principals to block the new uniforms and ignore the ministry's decision. “We will follow up on the implementation of this change with schools,” he said.
