PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines – Public elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators in Western Mindanao have been reminded by the Department of Education (DepEd) not to impose the wearing of student uniforms and identification cards (IDs) starting this school year which began nationwide Monday.

Dr. Walter O. Albos, DepEd Region 9 director, said the non-imposition of wearing of uniforms and IDs by students in the region is in compliance with a directive issued recently to field school officials by DepEd Secretary Armin A. Luistro.

Albos quoted Luistro’s order as saying that the move is designed to ease the financial burden of parents especially those in rural and urban-poor communities who are now experiencing severe economic difficulty owing to the continuous rising costs of prime commodities.

Luistro’s action against imposing student uniforms and IDs has been strongly hailed by many parents in the Muslim-Christian populated region, also known as Zamboanga Peninsula, Albos said.

According to Albos, the education chief also announced the government has allocated appropriate funds to shoulder the expense for school children’s IDs.