KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — The Education Ministry has directed all schools nationwide to survey their students on the uptake of the policy allowing black shoes as part of student uniforms.

Local daily Sin Chew Daily referred to a January 14 letter by the Education Ministry that was spread on social media, which was addressed to the education directors of all state education departments asking them to notify schools of the survey.

In it, the Education Ministry said it has started gradually allowing black shoes and socks in schools from 2019 to 2021.

The Education Ministry said it saw a need to conduct a study based on the schools’ findings of the policy’s implementation, with a request for schools to complete the online survey form by January 22, 2020.

Sin Chew Daily said it had verified this with the principal of a primary school in Kuala Lumpur, and published a photograph of the survey form that included details such as the number of students enrolled in the school, and the number of students wearing black shoes and white shoes respectively.

When contacted by Malay Mail today, National Union of the Teaching Profession Malaysia (NUTP) president Aminuddin Awang confirmed that the Education Ministry has asked schools to conduct a survey on the implementation of the black shoes policy.

He also verified that the letter circulating on social media to be genuine.

The letter contains a link to the website for the online survey form, with a note from the Education Ministry that a majority of respondents in engagement efforts including parents agreed with school students wearing black school shoes as compared to the wearing of white school shoes.

The note also stated that the Education Ministry wished to obtain findings on the implementation of the black shoe policy at the school level, and that schools are required to fill up the survey before or by January 31, 2020.