With uniforms being compulsory in many educational institutions , it is important to question if Singapore is taking the right approach to school uniforms and look at why the policy was implemented.

Uniforms are ubiquitous in Singapore, but less common in other countries. One benefit of mandatory school uniforms is the ability to mask a student's socioeconomic status by removing one indicator of one's financial situation - clothes. However, one can dispute the effectiveness of this as spending habits and other material possessions can signal a student's economic background.

And it can be argued that school uniforms propagate elitism among students. Different uniforms for each school act as a visual representation of differing qualifications and a barrier to connecting with students from other schools.

Such concerns about preconceived notions tied to school uniforms would be in line with concerns over streaming in schools, which have resulted in recent actions to change the system.

It may be time to give the role of school uniforms in our society some much-needed thought.

Ng Wei Jing, 17

JC 2 student

CALLING YOUNG READERS: If you are a student or aged 21 years or below, and want to air your opinion on any report or letter in The Straits Times, e-mail your letter to stforum@sph.com.sg, with the subject header "Voices of Youth". Do include your age, school level and contact details, and the headline of the report/letter you refer to. Please keep to a length of 250 words.