Trashing of the 'uniform' code

Trashing of the 'uniform' code

The Pre-University Directorate has ordered that PU college students need not wear uniform prescribed by the colleges. The circular seems to suggest that the decision was taken in the context of parents’ complaints.

The complaint, the circular says, is that some colleges are insisting that students buy uniform materials from the college itself. That means the issue is not ‘uniforms’ per se. If that is the case, this circular is flawed right away.

Why should there be a ‘uniform code’ in schools and colleges in the first place? Earlier they were mostly found only in schools. Now they are seen in colleges, including professional colleges. The reasons are obvious and, therefore, widely accepted. So why has this needless controversy come up at all?

The Karnataka government is making elaborate arrangements to distribute uniforms to the schoolchildren. This is also being reported alongside the ban on uniforms for PU students. This is quite paradoxical. Whatever be the rationale for uniforms for schoolchildren should hold good for PU students as well.

The fundamental reason for uniforms is to practice a culture of egalitarianism on our campuses. The difference between the rich and the poor gets obliterated when children wear the uniform. There is no scope for the rich to flaunt their rich clothes and cause an inferiority complex among the poor. Thus, uniforms are a great relief to the poor parents. So, a uniform is a pro-poor step while no uniform is pro-rich.

The teachers also do not distinguish or discriminate between the rich and the poor if they wear the same kind of dress. Students will not have any kind of a complex, be they rich or poor. If uniforms are not prescribed or enforced, the rich will be dressed in smart clothes whereas the poor will come in tattered, worn-out or faded clothes. This is the likely scenario.

In a country like ours, the disparity in income between the rich and the poor is so big that this will inevitably be reflected in the way their children are dressed to school. The psychological trauma a poor student will face can only be imagined. It is to protect the interests of such students that the practice of uniform is widely followed in India.

Why do we have uniforms in colleges? Most of the above factors apply in the case of colleges, too. In fact, there is an added dimension. If there is no uniform, some students might dress not in conformity with the social mores of our society.

The college authorities will have no way to regulate all sorts of modern dressing. Modernity or fashion can express itself in umpteen ways — ranging from crudity to nudity. It will be difficult to define ‘decent dressing’. T-shirts, shorts, tattered jeans, tight fits, sleeveless are all likely to make a comeback if no uniforms are prescribed.
In other words, the discipline of educational institutions is likely to be severely dented in the context of the above order. Reports in newspapers start with the statement that students can rejoice on the disappearance of uniform. Is the happiness or approval of students the sole criterion for making decisions on discipline and related issues?

Flawed circular

This is where the circular has gone wrong drastically. First of all, a decision of such ramification should not have been taken without taking all the stakeholders into confidence. Is there any reliable survey or study conducted on the merits and demerits of ‘uniform’?

Have the principals and teachers of colleges been consulted? Or a cross-section of students and parents? Can a decision be taken at the beginning of the academic year when the colleges have all finalised their ‘uniform’, announced the pattern etc. Is this not embarrassing for the colleges?

If some colleges distribute the materials, they should be doing so for purposes of uniformity. If a college is doing it for a profit motive, it should be stopped from doing so. But that’s no reason to trash the ‘uniform’ code. It can be reasonably predicted that colleges are going to face a host of fresh issues including ‘sexual abuse’ prompted by the dressing habits of students.

The crux of the matter here is the interference of the Board in the day-to-day administration of the colleges. Micro-management of colleges and schools is old hat. It’s not acceptable today.

Talk to PU college principals and lecturers, and most of them will say that this is a retrograde step and will surely cause serious damage to the culture and discipline of the institutions. Of course, nobody will want to speak in public for fear of reprisal.

Democratic decision-making is called for in matters such as this. It looks like it has not been done in this instance. In any case, we can reasonably predict a gradual decline in the discipline of colleges with an undefined dress code. Appeasing students is fine, but we need to be aware how costly it can be in the long run.

(The writer is former principal, Little Rock Indian School, Brahmavar, Udupi)