Korean-style school uniforms [file photo]

A technical secondary school in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, planned to order Korean-style school uniforms for students, but parents opposed the move, believing that the new uniforms looked too good and would encourage early romances among the students, the Jinling Evening Paper reported Monday.

Parents

"My daughter was so excited about the Korean-style uniform, saying it's her dream to wear mini-skirt to school every day," a mom surnamed Cheng complained. "My daughter also called her classmates to talk about how handsome the boys looked in the uniform!"

Cheng looked on the Internet and found that most Korean schoolboy uniforms are similar to western suits. "They are so handsome! My daughter is a fan of Korean fashion, that's why she is crazy about the uniform!" Chen said. "If the students wear such beautiful uniforms, how can they study well? I prefer the sports wear which makes me think of health and positive thinking."

School

"The plan to change the current school uniform from sports wear has been cancelled," an employee of the school told the Jinling Evening Paper .

"The students dislike the current uniform, so the school took advice from the students last November, knowing that most of students prefer Korean or Japanese style school uniforms. We know cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou have changed their sports wear school uniforms to more fashionable uniforms" an employee surnamed Lin said.

"However, we had to stop the plan because many parents are strongly against it. Some parents think it's just a way for the school to make money, and others think the new uniforms will take students' attention away from their studies," Lin said.

When asked about the the possibility of problems with early romance between students because of the more fashionable uniforms, Lin said he hadn't considered it. He, however, agrees that the Korean-style uniform makes the students more charming.

Students

The students are very disappointed about the school's final decision. They think the sports wear uniforms make them look androgynous.

They said the Korean uniform has many advantages such as raising interest in class; lifting confidence; improving solidarity and creating good temperaments.

As for concerns about romance, the students believe that love is love and bears no relationship to the uniform.

Education department

"We don't have a unified standard for school uniforms. The schools can choose their own styles. Either sports wear or uniforms are ok," an official from the Nanjing Bureau of Education said.

"Currently, most middle and elementary schools in Nanjing have sports wear uniforms," the official said.

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