Three weeks ago there was a social media storm that came after as the two top government ministers tweeted about a photo of students who appeared to be wearing short skirts popularly known as ‘mini skirts’. Some debates were saying that students should wear the way they want but others said it would affect performances of the students and cause seduction.
Meanwhile, The Guidelines for school’s internal rules and regulations on the student’s dress code that was passed last year in its Article 24 states that Schools shall determine how uniform should be worn either for girls or boys.
However, that the school should control the sliding products into the hair, make ups nail, mouth, eyebrows, eyes, and other wear jewelries as forbidden.
In its 3rd paragraph stipulate that all students at school shall wear the style of clothing determined by the school as the female students must wear uniform of the school of size that reaches the level of below the knee but not being too long.
This begs a question whether the guidelines for school’s internal rules and regulations regulating students dress codes is dormant as some schools does want to comply with the rules and generations.
According to Therese Iradukunda, The Head Teacher, Ecole Primarie Karera, for her the main reason why some schools especially the private ones allow students to dress the way they want is because the administration most often does not want to compromise with the private life of those who have paid their money.
She believes on another hand that students shouldn’t be blamed because of their dressing style “nothing comes without a source instead they copy from their parents. Therefore, it is a chain issue coming from the adults to children,” she says.
“Skimpy skirts are prohibited in our school yet it is private and once caught they cut your skirt. It’s the hide and seek game for some-one to survive a scissor cutting,” Uwimana Esther, the students from Saint Patrick secondary school says. This is a problem because the on-lookers have the freedom to look on or to abstain. She added
“I think liberalizing the students dress code would bring the fashion trend competition and show off’s instead of the academic concentration to even on-lookers and teachers. However, she says, for the boys there shouldn’t be tight control since there are no huge outcome effect as compared to boys,” Solange Utamuriza, the school administrator at Dove International school says.
“It’s okay for a boy to dress the way they want save that he does not pocket,” she adds.
Jean Damascene Rwasamirera, a grandfather, who is a strict-conservative historian believes on the folk values of the Rwandans.
“Our youth are influenced by what they see on the televisions yet those have nothing to do with our culture. The excuse that even young girls in the past worn the short backcloth traditionally known as ‘Amashabure’ shouldn’t be modelled at all.
“They did it because there was the scarcity of what to wear but today there are clothes. Amashabure was made from the skin of the calves and it was very expensive to get as some has to slaughter the young calf to get such a cloth. he adds.
“He adds parents should closely monitor the dressing style of their young ones to make that academics is not replaced by the fashion,” he says.
Florence Batamuriza, School Inspector at Nyagatare District, for her the dressing code of the students is very indecent compared to the later years in what she compared as the ‘great passion to move with the trendy world’. “I recall while still at school such dressing was very minimal and not dressed as it is due to tight regulation that was in place,” she says.
She says some schools who allow students with the freedom of dress allures students to look for money through sugar daddies instead of focusing on the studies. “The deviation wide spreads when one does and the next day you find another one dressed in similar manner,” she says.
“I advise parents to take the lead in controlling the dressing behavior of their young by the fact that a child will respect first the parents more than anyone else,” she adds.
Misplaced freedom
Leonille Muteteri, a graduate from the Ecole Technic de Muhazi, according to her education is being liberalizing on the high level.
“Most school going students are very young and not adults therefore leaving to do what they what could spoil them on the very young ages. Similarly, letting a school children go to school with the sandal or expensive shoe would arouse materialism to their fellow ones more especially the poor ones possibly their performance would be affected because they might feel marginalized and inferior because they can’t afford what others have,” she adds.
Charlotte Uwamahoro, The School Inspector at Kicukiro District, also believes that liberalizing the students would affect their performance and even later in life.
Certificates and high marks would be nothing if the graduates have nothing related to the good morals in the society. “We shouldn’t leisure about the dress code since its very attached to our societal norms,” she says.
“I don’t think employers would prefer someone who dress in vulgar way once appears on the panel,” she adds. Therefore, Liberalizing the students dress code would affect them heavily on performance and even after.
“Some schools shouldn’t relax since it would affect the performance of their schools in the way of arousing sexual demands especially the young girls,” freedoms on such issue could only work on adults but not on young kids who does not know what to do. This would increase defilement cases,” ashe adds.
The Express News
