Ahmedabad, July 16: Students of civic schools in Ahmedabad will get free haircuts as a part of the 'swachhata campaign.' The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) plans to implement the campaign in all the 372 primary schools in the city, which covers almost 1.24 lakh of students. The AMC school board has made a year-long agreement with a beauty school from Pune called the International School of Aesthetics and Spa (ISAS), which has agreed to give free haircuts.

Under this scheme, students will get a haircut once a month in their schools. The appointments of the students along with the coordination with school authorities will be made prior and in a manner that it will not affect the study session of the students. Principals will ensure the educational activities are not hampered on the decided dates of the haircut.

The religious customs and beliefs of students are also kept in mind, so students who want their hair cut from school will have to get a written consent from their parents about the same. So the free haircut scheme is not a compulsion but a choice. Another important aspect kept in mind by the AMC is, men will cut boys’ hair and women, girls’. To not make it seem like a punishment, students can also choose the style of their liking. There would be different styles tailored to suit the school students.

The basic idea is to provide haircuts to those who cannot afford them but also inculcate the message of  ‘cleanliness’ among students and their parents coming from the lower strata of the society. Talking about this initiative Administrative Officer of the AMC School Board LD Desai said, “Since these students are mostly from slum areas, we want to send across a message of cleanliness. There are many students who do not get haircuts very regularly. Thus, providing them a neat haircut, that too of their choice is certainly one of the best initiatives taken by a municipal school board ever.”

The campaign will start from the last week on July and some schools have already started seeking permissions from the parents regarding the implementation of this campaign. In the beginning, the haircut sessions will be held on 2nd and 4th Saturdays and later on all the weekends. The AMC is planning to flag off the initiative in at least 50 schools in its first phase.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2018 10:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).