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Several people arrived two hours before opening time just to be first in line for a queue ticket.
By around 10 a.m., more than 100 people had formed a meandering queue, and the police moved to disperse the crowd, as some ignored the 1 meter safe distance requirement.
They weren’t scrambling to get tickets to a K-pop concert (like there’s a pandemic) or the latest iPhone.
They were parents anxious and desperate to buy or exchange school uniforms for their children before the new school year begins next Monday.
Six police officers were seen outside the Jeep Sing Fashion store in the 4012 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 block urging parents to stay further apart and encouraging some to leave, The Straits Times reported.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) then assured parents that students will have more time in the first weeks of January to buy school uniforms.
The schools will work closely with their suppliers to ensure that students can purchase their uniforms as soon as possible and facilitate the sale of uniforms at the school, the Ministry of Education told The Straits Times.
As a result of Covid-19, schools were advised to make adjustments to their year-end activities to safeguard the health of the school community, the ministry explained.
This included asking schools to work with vendors to allow parents / guardians to purchase uniforms and books online and make home deliveries. Suppliers could also allow appointments to buy uniforms at schools or physical stores.
Noting the challenges parents and providers face, the Education Ministry said schools will make arrangements for students who cannot purchase uniforms in time for the start of classes.
This includes allowing them to report in their PE attire or elementary school uniforms.
On its website, Jeep Sing had told customers not to show up as all the queue tickets for the day had been issued.
Mrs. Sharon Yee, 33, was one of the people who couldn’t get a ticket to the queue despite being in the store at 8.55am
She wanted to buy uniforms for her son, who will start high school.
The results of Secondary Post 1 were released on December 22.
EMBARRASSED
The official told The Straits Times: “My son cannot wear his elementary school uniform during the first days of Secondary 1 because he is too small.
“You may be embarrassed not to have a uniform when your friends have theirs.”
Some parents said they did not order uniforms online because the turnaround time, which could exceed a week, was too long.
Jeep Sing declined to comment when contacted by The Straits Times. But he apologized to Facebook customers for the long lines and delay in orders.
“In light of Covid-19, we are experiencing a massive increase in demand for our uniforms in terms of physical orders and e-commerce,” he added.
Police also cleared out crowds of parents twice last week at the Bibi & Baba school uniform store in the Far East Mall, its business development manager Nick Koh said.
One possible factor in the queues was that about half of the high schools supplied by Bibi & Baba did not allow it to sell on school premises due to Covid-19 concerns, Koh said.
Queues were neater for Bibi & Baba yesterday, and their staff reminded customers to follow safe distancing rules.
Doris Yeo, managing director of Shanghai School Uniforms, said their queues have been manageable.
She told The New Paper: “Due to Covid, we introduced an appointment booking system to comply with safe distancing measures.
“We continue to get customers who come in without a reservation and we have to turn them down when the queues get too long. We have had a huge increase in our online sales this year compared to previous years that had almost zero acceptance.”
However, some parents face difficulties shopping online and have trouble making payment, Ms. Yeo said.
Some parents also prefer to go to the store with their children to see the uniforms.
“Although children cannot try on the uniforms, some parents feel more comfortable when they can feel the sample uniforms and put them on their children’s back to measure size.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTS: SAMUEL DEVARAJ
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