Our school uniforms
B.O. SEBASTIAN
After four decades of teaching and administrative experience in India and abroad, I look back with a lot of apprehension on various aspects of school education. To begin with, let us think about the school uniform and its value. In those days, in most of the schools, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where I studied and worked, boys had a simple uniform of white shirt, blue, black or kakhi shorts, trousers or white dothis, while girls had blouse or skirts, and, later on,
salwar kameez which were simple and modest.
But today a look at the uniform code given in some of the school diaries, makes one wonder whether all this paraphernalia from K.G. to Std XII for boys and girls is worth the effort.
Stipulations galore
Girls: half sleeved shirt, box pleated pinafore, loop tie/school tie, school belt, black hair bands. Boys: Grey half sleeved shirt, black green shorts, school tie, school belts, trousers from Std.V onwards. Std. VII to IX girls should wear grey half-sleeved shirt, black green trousers, jacket, school tie and white hair band.
Girls to have their hair trimmed properly to the shoulder level. Girls of secondary level may grow their hair but should wear it as a pony tail and held in place with a hair band. The shoes and socks should be as prescribed by the school.
Foot wear for the monsoon months is black sandal with black straps for boys and girls.
On Wednesdays all should wear the white uniform with all details as prescribed. The school uniform is obligatory on all school days. ID card is compulsory from K.G. to Std XII.
One wonders at the time spent on photo sessions for the ID cards in the beginning of the year, typing the details, lamination, money collections, distribution, etc, and of that spent by the teachers checking all these details, on daily basis. Are we not spending much of the learning time for this and for what purpose?
Cart before horse?
I feel sorry for parents who, along with their daily chores, bathe and dress the children in the well-starched full uniform, give breakfast, pack the tiffin, lunch, etc in separate containers, along with a bottle of water and the bag with the books as per the time table. You can imagine how the parent can be driven mad if one pair of socks or the ID card is missing, lost or misplaced. Moreover, if a child had not worn the identity card or forgotten the belt/badge, who gets the blame or punishment? Imagine the confusion and squabble when children are not able to trace their shoes, bags, or some pieces of their uniform when they move from the library or the computer lab since the size, shape and colour are the same.
It is irritating to see children chewing their ties or ID cards or meddling with them. Shouldn’t our uniforms be suited to our locality, country, climate and culture or should we ape the West? I do agree that parents should get well-tailored quality clothes for their wards to wear and our children should be taught to dress in the right clothes.
What are our schools about? What are our priorities? What are the values we stand for, live for or educate? Who has to bell the cat to change this system? How nice it would be if the elaborateness of the outfit simplified and the financial implications lessened?
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