Imported shoes banned in Fujian school to counter vanity

A file photo of Zijiang Middle School of Jinjiang city, southeast China's Fujian province [Photo: Baidu]

A notice banning imported shoe brands from a school in southeast China's Fujian province has gone viral online.

The notice, at Zijiang Middle School of Jinjiang city, says the ban has been put in place to avoid vanity among students, reports thepaper.cn.

It says parents should cooperate with the school on the ban, and that if students are caught wearing imported brands, parents will be asked to bring Chinese made shoes to school for their children to change into.

The school authority said it sent the notice to parents because students were spending more time comparing their shoes than improving their study performance.

It said the ban was aimed at stopping such behavior and promoting the virtue of thrift.

One teacher from the Student Affairs Office of Zijiang Middle School said the "imported shoe brand ban" was just a proposal by the school and that it was running a trial in one particular grade.

Opinions are divided on social media with some saying that a search online shows some Chinese made shoes are expensive, costing over 2,000 yuan (about USD 290) in some cases, which is actually a higher price than many imported shoe brands.

Others have pointed out that many imported shoe brands are actually "made in China" and therefore cannot be strictly described as "imported".

Responding to online comments, the school authority said the shoe ban comes after a cellphone ban, and the insistence on wearing school uniforms. It said the school promotes thriftiness among students.

"Comparatively speaking, Chinese made shoe brands are less expensive than imported ones. We also ban students from wearing Chinese made shoe brands that cost a lot," said one teacher.

"Most parents understand and support the proposal by the school. Only a few students have been unwilling to follow the rules," added the teacher.