Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education, Bobby Hajjaj, today announced that the government has structured a phased plan to supply free school uniforms and shoes to nearly 10.7 million government primary school students across the country.

As part of the government’s initial 180-day urgent development agenda, a specialized pilot project is being implemented to evaluate the operational effectiveness, quality, and distribution logistics of the apparel and footwear.

The State Minister disclosed this during a strategic view-exchange meeting held at the ministry’s conference room with top executives from the country’s leading footwear brands on Thursday. The meeting focused on establishing institutional collaborations to seamlessly distribute free school dresses and footwear items among primary school pupils.

Addressing the industry leaders, the State Minister noted that the country’s apex garments manufacturing and export associations have already responded positively to this national welfare initiative. Through their voluntary corporate cooperation, over 400,000 sets of school uniforms are being sourced for the initial pilot phase.

During the session, the State Minister revealed that preliminary plans have been drawn up to supply white, strap-on Velcro sneakers (laceless shoes) specifically tailored for first-grade students during the pilot phase. Since most first-grade students are around six years old, the ministry sought detailed feedback from the footwear companies regarding accurate sizing matrixes, anatomical comfort, gender-specific preferences, and maximum production capacities.

Bobby Hajjaj urged the participating footwear companies to formally submit detailed proposals to the ministry outlining their voluntary donation quotas, delivery timelines, and standard manufacturing cost structures. He underscored that for future large-scale national distributions, the government intends to forge long-term public-private partnerships (PPP) with the leather and footwear industrial sectors.

The State Minister emphasized that the government aims to demonstrate visible, high-impact progress of this pilot distribution scheme to the public by August 2026.

The high-level meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, alongside top managing directors and operational heads of the country’s leading commercial footwear enterprises.