A dressing down for dress code
Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has decided that he too should contribute to the ongoing debate on what parents, and in particular mothers, should wear when escorting their children to school or attending school meetings. On Friday, he announced that he did not support the policy adopted by some schools of turning parents away if they were not clad in clothes that the school authorities approved of.
The reference was obviously to some schools where mothers are only allowed into the school if they are clad in sari. Now, the Minister wants his Ministry to issue a circular saying that parents should be allowed to enter school in clothing of their preference as long as they are “appropriate” and “decent”. While the Minister can bind government schools to such rules, private schools, however, do not need to abide by them. What is “appropriate” and “decent” is also subjective and a matter of interpretation and depends on how conservative or liberal one is. Say, in France, covering oneself from head to toe with only a slit for one’s eyes is considered “inappropriate”.
In fact, a few private boys schools in Colombo have a pictorial display at the entrance gate showing what should be worn and what should not be worn by mothers when entering the school premises while some government school too are strict about the dress code for mothers, many insisting they wear sari. Hence, this matter is unlikely to end with the issue of a mere circular but the Minister’s intervention is likely to lead to more discussion on the subject.
There’s no dress code for fathers; not yet.