"It is simple, actually. Next year, the Education Office is expected to provide an online uniform shopping system," said Herlina Harsono Njoto, member of DPRD's Commission D, in Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province, on Saturday.
She noted that several private schools in Surabaya have implemented an online uniform sales system. The system in question can be in form of an application accessible to parents or guardians.
According to Njoto, the application can avoid the polemic of school uniform levies that occurred almost every new school year.
The House member opined that the polemic occurred in the wake of no alternative for parents or guardians to obtain uniforms for their children.
"If the parents (or guardians) were given the option, then I do not think this uniform issue will become a polemic, and the community will be well-served," she remarked.
Njoto suggested that the Surabaya city government should ideally be able to create a digital platform or application as an alternative to enable the sale of uniforms in the school environment.
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"Surabaya is already a smart city. I think the mayor is IT literate, so he should be able to provide an application for purchasing uniforms online akin to the existing application, which is e-peken," she noted.
With the availability of online services, parents can determine which uniforms they want to buy, and they can also compare prices. If the students' (parents or) guardian fell in the low-income community (MBR) category, then they will not be charged for uniforms obtained through the application.
"The advantage is that we know exactly the need for uniforms, and we can also compare prices, so this can be very helpful for parents," she emphasized.
Njoto informed that the public can access the application directly from their devices. Parents or guardians that are facing difficulties in accessing it can seek help from the school to purchase uniforms online.
"Hence, there are several options for parents, specifically from school cooperatives, public markets, and online. Students from low-income groups are also well-served," she added.
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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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