On March 15, 2024, the Maharashtra State Government brought out a Government Resolution (GR) on the ‘dress code of teachers’. As per this GR, it is recommended that female teachers wear sarees or kurtas, while male teachers wear shirts and trousers. This dress code applies to all schools in the state, regardless of whether they are government or private. The school education department, in issuing these guidelines, has granted educational institutions the authority to determine the specific colours teachers can wear in classrooms. Another guideline highlighted is the introduction of the prefix “Tr” for teachers, similar to “Dr” for doctors and “Adv” for lawyers. The issuance of this GR has elicited varied opinions from educational leaders and practitioners across the country. Brainfeed is dedicated to presenting these diverse viewpoints in its upcoming articles.
As part of this endeavour, we are pleased to present below the view of Mr Bharat Malik, Chairman, Aryaglobal Group of Schools, Thane, Maharashtra.
Professions such as Nurse, a Doctor, an Army official, a Policeman, a Driver or a Factory Worker are usually recognised by the public due to the specific dress code they wear. There is a significant relationship between their attire and the duties they perform. They are aimed at governing the general public perception of safety and neutrality.
A Farmer harvests a crop that feeds millions, have we thought of a farmer with a uniform? A Teacher too is in the profession of harvesting. The crop a Teacher harvests is in the form of quality of children who are the future of the Nation. Children learn through the phases of dependence, to independence and then move to interdependence. This is achieved after years of nurturing, mentoring, learning and teaching under the guidance of their Teachers. It is Teachers who provide children with not just information but multi-dimensional perspectives during the formative years of the child. For a Teacher who is inculcating diverse faculties in children, like thinking as well as the importance of noble values, subjecting them to a strict dress code or a Uniform will certainly limit their role and their identity in the eyes of a child, parents and society. By enforcing a uniform, the Teaching community will be subjected to a conditioning that will be detrimental to the development of the child and the perception of a Teacher in the eyes of society.
Besides, the suggestion of creating a uniform is also hugely impractical. Consider Arts, Sports, Linguistics, Science and Mathematics, all have distinct flavours and diverse needs to fully develop the expression of a child‘s talent and their area of expertise. There can be do’s and don’ts in dress policy for teachers that are driven by the nature of their work, school customs and weather conditions of their location. However, a policy to paint the whole profession into one single dress code is unadvisable and does not revere a noble profession. Moreover, the prime responsibility to educate a child in the family is that of the parent. Does the parent have a uniform?
