PASIG - The Department of Education has released a press statement regarding the banning of make-up for high school, elementary and pre-school students nationwide. It is scheduled to take effect next school year. Both public and private institutions are required to enforce this new regulation.

A section of the mandated press release included:

All physical cosmetics that are applied facially are to be prohibited from school premises. Students violating this rule will be subject to up to three days of non-exempted school suspension. Tools that are use to apply cosmetics must be kept in the students' lockers or bags at all times. Anyone caught with them, regardless if applying them or not, will also be subject to suspension.

Colognes and perfumes, however, are not affected by this new rule and are still allowed to be used.

DepEd has stated in the press release that this new regulation is being applied due to misleading facial features of children and teenagers. "These make-up products make them look more mature than they are, and that's not a good thing," Rizalino D. Rivera, Undersecretary for Regional Operations for DepEd, told us when asked for his opinion on the banning of cosmetics in school premises.