TIRUCHY: Garment manufacturers in Puthanatham near Manapparai in Tiruchy district have urged the state to defer the proposed change in school uniform design to 2028-29, stating that they already hold substantial stock of both fabric and stitched uniforms for 2026-27 and 2027-28, and any changes before that would lead to losses.
A month ago, School Education Minister A Rajmohan had indicated that the government was considering changes to the existing uniform design.
According to members of Puthanatham Readymade Garments Manufacturers Welfare Association, the cluster comprises over 50 manufacturing units supporting 400 families.
Apart from uniforms, the units also produce garments such as shirts, trousers and nightwear, but a significant share of their revenue comes from uniform-related production. The cluster supplies both uniform cloth and ready-made garments across TN, sourcing raw materials from Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad.
TAK Hidayatullah, secretary of the association, said, “We have nearly `5 crore worth of stock ready, including both fabric and stitched uniforms sufficient for the current academic year (2026-27) and fabric for the next (2027-28). If the design is changed now, the entire stock will have no market,” he said.
Association treasurer Kamal Pasha said the sector had only recently recovered from the slowdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. “Our annual turnover is around Rs 50 crore, with nearly Rs 30 crore coming from uniform production,” he said. He added that demand is sustained as students rely on local manufacturers for additional cloth and stitched uniforms beyond the free set. Similar clusters operate in Natham, Cumbum, Bodi, Madurai, Karur and Thalavaipuram, and any sudden design change would have a ripple effect across these centres as well, Pasha said.
On Wednesday, the representatives met Rajmohan in Chennai and reiterated their request, seeking a transition period before implementing changes. The minister assured them that their concerns would be examined and steps would be taken to minimise losses.