Dress code for women teachers

The prestigious Bareilly College, one of the oldest colleges in the country, has asked its “young women teachers” to wear only “saris” while inside the campus. Reason? The college management says it would make the young ad-hoc teachers “look different” from girl students.  “It is very difficult to differentiate between young girls and  young women ad-hoc teachers as they both wear salwar-kurta...there must be some difference between them”, college principal R P Singh said on Wednesday.

College sources said the principal has sent letters to all the heads of the departments asking them to make sure that the dress code was implemented in its letter and spirit. The principal was at a loss when asked how would the dress code result in improving the academic standard in the college. “I strongly feel it definitely will”, was all that he would say.

However,  teachers have sharply reacted to the enforcement of the dress code. “This is ridiculous....we do  not understand how will it improve the academic standard”, quipped a lady teacher. “The college management should instead focus on other things like se good laboratories, well-equipped libraries and conducting teachers’ training programmes”, she said. “What is the need for differentiating between young ad-hoc lady teachers and other young girl students”, the teachers asked.

Incidentally, the college had earlier also enforced a dress code for its girl students. It had banned wearing jeans inside the college campus and had warned of expulsion if students failed to abide by the order.