MOSCOW, April 25 (Itar-Tass) – Vladimir Putin favours returning of school uniform, but opposes hijab wearing in educational institutions.
It is demonstration of attitude to religion. It was never so in the country, the president said during the question-and-answer session, in reply to the question about hijab wearing in schools.
"We must go the way of return to school uniform, and such work is underway, and it (uniform) will be introduced," he noted.
Putin supported the idea at the first conference of the All-Russia People's Front in Rostov-on-Don in late March. "There must be school uniform in our country," the president said at that time, proposing to take federal decisions for regions to introduce uniform and allow regions and municipalities to decide on details.
Introducing of school uniform in Russia is one of the main issues on the agenda of the meeting of the State Duma's Education Committee this Thursday.
Earlier this week, two draft laws on school uniform were submitted to the State Duma. The authors of the first document were United Russia members and deputies from the All-Russia People's Front Olga Tomofeyeva and Mikhail Starshinov.
Timofeyeva told Itar-Tass that they proposed not to obligatorily introduce uniform as formerly, but suggested that regions should set requirements for schoolchildren’s clothes with taking into consideration local conditions and wishes of schools, children and their parents.
The second draft law submitted by Liberal Democrat Mikhail Degtyarev calls for introducing school uniform, models of which must be approved by the government and the Education Ministry.