Pune protests, school says no dress code for girl students innerwear

Under flak from various quarters, a Pune co-education school on Thursday withdrew its controversial order mandating all girl students to wear only white or beige underwears on campus.

The decision by the MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul School (MITVGS), Kothrud to withdraw its earlier dress code orders had followed vehement protests from the parents and social activists, who had dubbed the school’s diktat as “draconian| and infringing” which violated the individual privacy.

The school had recently made it compulsory for girls to sport only “white or beige inner-wears” under their skirts daily from the current academic year.

However, the parents and students registered against the questionable dress code, the school had tried to justify the order by saying that it was aimed at ensuring safety to girl students. The parents were asked to sign the diary every day, failing which it had threatened to take action against violators.

Following the protests by the parents,  Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde had intervened on Wednesday and directed the  State Director of Education, Pune and other officials to visit the school and look into the matter.

On Thursday, a team of education officers from the Pune Municipal Corporation, met the school authorities and interacted with the agitating parents. The visiting team ruled in favour of the parents. The visiting team of education officers directed the MITVGS management to immediately withdraw its order and the compulsory diary entry. The school management complied with the directive.

Later in the evening, the school management unconditionally withdrew its dress code orders, saying it had decided to withdraw  its earlier orders.