Sir,

I wish to express my concerns over the recent decision to cancel uniforms for PU students (SOM dated May 18). Though the PU Board Director C.Shikha would have put in a lot of thought and analysis into taking this decision, here are a few points I would like to share with readers as well as officials:

• Uniform imposition need not always be seen as an act of “fleecing parents” but as a move to bring equality among children coming from various economic backgrounds.
• To prevent colleges from imposing fancy blazers or designer wear guidelines maybe issued instead of totally doing away with it.
• Children can be easily identified as to which institution they belong to.
• Many parents from middle class or poor background need not worry about buying dozens of clothes for their wards to attend college.
• Parents are already burdened financially in order to send their wards to colleges that charge exorbitant fees to train them for IIT/NEET/CET; now with cancellation of uniforms they have to spend money on buying dozens of clothes, especially for girl students.
• The humble student will also now have to keep with latest fashion and trends rather than pursuing scholarly goals.
• Children waste precious time on deciding what to wear for the day; if it’s a uniform it’s a matter of a few minutes.
• Security of students will be taken care of in the campus as uniform will prevent outsiders or trouble-makers from entering to cause disturbance.
• Uniform will not only bring in more discipline but will also prevent young scholars from distractive pursuits that might make a huge negative impact on their future.

Hope the above thoughts will be considered in the right spirit.

– A concerned teacher, Mysuru, 19.5.2017