Kerala lets children be 'colourful butterflies' on school celebration days

Thrissur (Kerala) | Children in Kerala will no longer have to wear uniforms on school celebration days.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty announced the decision at the formation meeting of the State School Arts Festival reception committee here on Tuesday.

He said the idea came directly from the children themselves.

"Let the little ones enjoy themselves like colourful butterflies," the minister said in a Facebook post.

While some people praised the move, others felt it might backfire.

"A big thank you to Sivankutty sir... Let the children enjoy this special time in their lives," one person wrote in the comments section.

Another shared a different view.

They recalled that in their school days, uniforms were worn only three days a week.

Later, it was made five days to ensure fairness between children from rich and poor families.

The idea was to avoid making less privileged children feel sad when others came in expensive clothes, they said.

They added that uniforms also made it easier to spot students if they were seen wandering outside school.

In their view, uniforms are still important today -- especially during sports and arts events -- as a way to keep children safe.