Pune: At a time British schools are doing away with skirts and introducing gender neutral uniforms, a school in Pune is still hung up on innerwear. So, a diktat has been issued by Vishwashanti Gurukul in Kothrud stating that girls should either wear skin (beige) or white coloured innerwear while coming to school. If this wasn’t enough, to ensure compliance, the school authorities have made the parents sign an undertaking, stating that the innerwear code won’t be violated.
When the parents objected, the authorities said that it was being done for the safety of girl students. While the boys have just got away with having to keep their hair very short — a kind of military crew cut – there is a list of dos and don’ts for parents, too: they cannot speak with one another and agitate against the gorukul.
Students are also expected to use the washroom only at stipulated times. For this purpose, they have been given even a time-table. However, in case of dire need (emergency) and on medical grounds, the students can take permission from their respective teachers and proceed to the toilet with a buddy. Both recalcitrant parents and students will face disciplinary action.
No wonder, parents staged a protest on Wednesday against the school’s 22 commandments. “They listed these rules in the school diary and asked us to sign it,” a parent said. One of the parents said that the mention of inner wear for girl students could have been avoided. “Parents and students are mature enough and there was no need to include such guidelines in the diary,” she said.
Terming the guidelines “coercive and unnecessary”, the parents have approached the education department and sought action against the school administration. Suchitra Karad-Nagare, executive director and trustee of the MAEER MIT group, justified the guidelines and even explained the rationale behind the innerwear. She said coloured innerwear worn under white uniforms could elicit unsavoury remarks.
On the loo break timings, she said it has been done to “inculcate discipline and to ensure that students do not stay cooped up in the toilet for a long time.’’ Dinkar Temkar, Director, (Primary) Education, has directed the Pune Municipal Corporation to make inquiries. Two officers from the PMC’s education board have been asked to look into the matter.