The school uniform is one of the most recurrent topics in thousands of homes of children, adolescents and young people enrolled in general education. 

Las Tunas, Cuba - In the face of the new readjustments in the education sector, the tight economic blockade and the health situation caused by the new coronavirus, uncertainties are emerging in families regarding the availability of clothing. In statements to 26Digital from the competent bodies, doubts are clarified about the clothing, which is already located in most of the commercial establishments in the province linked to its sale.

CLOTHING AT FULL SPEED

In order to get closer to the manufacturing of the uniforms, we went to the Basic Business Unit (UEB) related to this kind of activity which is known as Melissa Clothing Company, of Las Tunas, which belongs to the Boga National Group. There, the head of the Business Group, Ana América Escalona, informed that for the first stage of the delivery, the uniforms of the students who will attend the preschool, fifth and seventh grades are ready.

According to this, the executive emphasizes that "due to the lack of raw materials in this industry, the total production of uniforms for the 2020-2021 school year in the territory is at 88 percent of its completion; within the finished ones are those of the elementary education with which the commercialization process will begin.

"However, our company requested the importation of the fabrics, so we hope they will send us the missing raw material in order to prioritize that production line and thus have all the pieces before the end of the 2019-2020 school year," she said.

Currently, the Cuban State is carrying out actions to solve the inputs in order to guarantee the children's clothing. "For several months now -says the head of business- it has been more frequent the link between the provincial directorates of Education and the Ministry of Domestic Trade (Mincin) here, to determine the most necessary sizes in the distribution by municipalities, and to make the delivery without any difficulty.

"'Melissa' has the responsibility, in the part of the school uniform, to assume the demands of the province, so that all the commercialized productions leave from our headquarters. In the case of the workshop located in the municipality of Jesús Menéndez, we have a specialized technology in skirts for primary school students, while the collectives of Jobabo and "Colombia" assume the elaboration of the shorts and pants."

REDISTRIBUTE THE PRODUCTIONS AND COORDINATE THE SALES

The Universal Company started the distribution of the changing rooms corresponding to the first stage. "At this moment it is essential to work together with Education", notified Yunieska Cancino Velázquez, commercial specialist of the entity.

She adds that "we are already invoicing all these packs and since Tuesday, for example, all the school uniforms were delivered to the municipality of Manatí, on Wednesday to Jesús Menéndez and so on in the rest of the municipalities. Our goal is that on October 5th, according to national indications, the sale to customers will begin in each of the units of Commerce, because we have all the school modules planned for this first period," said the commercial.

For their part, the municipal directors of education carry out the pertinent coordination with each school, in order to ensure the development of this process without neglecting the protection measures against COVID-19.

"During these days, the vouchers for the purchase of the uniform are distributed to each municipality and will be given to the educational institutions from September 15 to 30. It is up to these centers to inform the family about the store where they can buy it. Everything must flow with agility and organization," explains Mailén Vilchech Pupo, head of the Department of Logistics in Provincial Education.

She specified that in a second moment, after the granting of places, the uniform will be issued to the first-year students of Pre-University, Technical-Professional Education and pedagogical schools".

THE SPACES HAVE BEEN SET UP

"In the Commerce sector, actions are developed to speed up sales. With this objective, a joint program was organized with the industry and the Ministry of Education, which began on September 8 and should end on September 30," said Ibis Alvarez Mayedo, a specialist from this provincial entity.

"The territory's schools are linked to 97 commercial units. The process must be carried out in an orderly manner, since in our premises the lists of schools are already available, and hygienic precautions will be taken during the sale. The only thing left to do is to complete the arrival of the garments to our shelves, and that is already happening," Ibis said.

In spite of the difficulties with the importation, two changes of clothes will be guaranteed for each student in this phase, except for the boys who are starting the fifth grade; who will have two shirts, but only a short, since we do not have enough fabric," the specialist expressed.

"All the measurements requested by the study centers will be available. In the case of preschool, there will be short sizes from four to eight. The shorts for fifth-grade children will be from four to 14; both grades will be able to acquire shirts from size four to 16, and the blouses and skirt for elementary school will be from four to 16.

"In the Secondary School, pants sizes range from 26 to 32, and blouses and skirts from 8 to 14. In the case of the shirts we will offer from SS to L", announced Alvarez Mayedo.

Despite the limitations, the students of Las Tunas will return to the classrooms properly uniformed; there are many hands behind that purpose. We hope that during the sale everything goes according to plan and, above all, that discipline, respect and measures that allow us to preserve our health prevail.