Casual move provokes serious stir
A school’s decision to do away with uniforms highlights generation gap, writes
Uniforms may have been widely accepted in the past, but times have changed. ISSARA LERTKIATPAISARN STUDENT
School uniform has become a hot issue in Thailand over the past week after the country’s first all-boys private school, Bangkok Christian College (BCC), implemented a “casual Tuesdays” policy, allowing students to ditch their uniforms once a week. BCC director Suphakit Jitklongsub said the decision is aimed at giving students the option to express themselves by wearing casual clothes, as a part of an effort to make the school a happier place. Mr Suphakit described the move as “a research experiment on student uniform”, and said the school had obtained approval from the school’s board and parents. He promised that if the policy is shown to harm students’ academic performance, it will be scrapped. However, just a day after BCC students were allowed to pick their own clothes to wear to class for the first time, the Office of the Private Education Commission (Opec) asked the school to reconsider its policy. Opec secretary-general Chalam Attham, while acknowledging the school’s explanation that “Casual Tuesdays” is a part of a six-week research project, said his office was concerned about orderliness and discipline. He said it could also have a negative impact on some parents’ expenses, and raised several other general issues related to Thai society. “BCC must discuss the pilot project with its school board and report the result of their discussion to Opec as soon as possible,” Mr Chalam said, before pointing out that private students’ dress codes are still covered by the 2008 Student Uniform Act. “If other private schools want to follow BCC’s lead, they must think carefully about the impact of such a policy,” he said. On the same day, Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin urged public schools under the Office of Basic Education Commission not to follow BCC’s policy, as their students are required to wear uniforms under that act, which stipulates that public school students must wear a uniform that adheres to the Education Ministry’s standard. Any students who fail to wear uniforms without acceptable exemptions are liable to penalties as determined by the ministry. He also quoted a speech by King Rama VI, who said the purpose of student uniforms is to promote discipline and narrow social gaps. BCC’s move has divided people into two camps — those who support the idea, and those who are opposed to letting students dress down for school. Supporters called it a “human right”, and said casual attire will not negatively affect academic performance, while opponents believed it could lead to friction between students from different backgrounds. Student activist l eader Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, who has been calling for uniforms to be abolished since his high school years, said he supports BCC’s experiment and is happy to see a school that dares to challenge the norm. Mr Netiwit, now a student at Chulalongkorn University, said student behaviour will be transformed if uniform rules are relaxed. “It would allow critical and creative thinking, which students in Thai schools often lack,” he said. Mr Netiwit said the problem with the education system in Thailand is much deeper than a matter of appearances. As well as having to dress the same, Thai students are taught to think the same too; they are taught to think only what they are told, and not to question anything, he said. “I encourage all schools nationwide to follow in the footsteps of BCC. School executives should be more open-minded and students must dare to put pressure and create a movement themselves,” he said. Issara Lertkiatpaisarn, a 15-yearold student in Bangkok, said school uniforms suppress individualism and restrict students’ freedom to express themselves. “Uniforms may have been widely accepted in the past, but times have changed. Today, teenagers are encouraged to express their unique ideas in new ways. School uniforms contradict this,” he said. Manus On-sang, editor of DEK-D. com, the largest website for Thai high school students, said that apart from the uniform code, the decadesold hair rules — which require Thai schoolgirls to don short bobs and boys to wear army-style buzz cuts — should be relaxed as well because hairstyles also have no impact on academic performance. “Many teachers spend a lot of time ensuring that their students abide by the uniform and hair rules with great religiosity as though the future of the nation depended on it,” he said. “This needs to change.” Unlike the younger generation, many parents still believe that uniforms are necessary to maintain order, discipline and equality, although most acknowledge that dress codes have no impact on students’ academic performance. Alisara Peeramontee, 46, a mother of two high school students, said uniforms were never intended to stifle student creativity and personality, but to promote discipline. “There are many ways for students to show off their creativity. They don’t have to do it with their uniform. You can stand out from other students by being confident, not by the way you dress,” she said. “A school is a place for learning, not fashion shows.” Janjira Sirisuk, 48, mother of a 17-year-old boy, said students should cherish their uniforms as they cannot wear them again after graduation. “I don’t think having the same uniform makes them think the same. But children should be made to look the same. They can do and wear what they want when they are older but not as children,” she said. Education expert Sompong Jitradub said the negative responses and feedback from policymakers and some parents reflects the typical mindset of conservative older people, which is different to those of free-thinking students of today. He said letting go of the uniform code will offer students a sense of greater freedom, paving the way for them to come up with creative innovation, based on critical independent thinking. “If educators and policymakers won’t let students decide what to wear, how can we encourage these students to make decisions or form sound judgements on other complex and challenging academic or social issues?” Mr Sompong said. “And if they won’t do away with such mundane regulations, how can they embrace other reforms?”