DC Debate: Stringent rules applied by engineering colleges on students and its effects

It’s been a decade since we started with the tradition of dress codes. Students must come in decent dress for education. They cannot come in fancy dresses or as they like in educational institutions, where they spend eight hours.

In order to bring discipline among students, we introduced this. It avoids a lot of controversies like eve-teasing and distracting other students. The girls or boys, if they are decently dressed they can concentrate on studies. Students must be decently dressed before going to the interview. One student comes with lot of holes in his trouser, giving it a rat bitten affect. Students would often come dressed to show off their six and eight packs. All these things disturbed teachers and made it difficult for them to handle the class. Students also wore T-shirts with slogans like ‘kiss me not’, ‘love me not’ printed on them. It makes a classroom sexually charged. It is very important that girls should not come to college wearing tights and leggings as it attracts boys. The decent dress is a salwar or churidar for girls and formal shirt-trouser for boys. When companies come for recruitment or guest lecturers come, they will not think highly of a class of 60 in different fancy dresses.

When it comes to boys not talking to girls I don’t think there is anything wrong in it. But mobile phones should be strictly banned. Today’s smart phones are causing a lot of problems. Mostly, students misuse mobile phones. For eight hours, the students should be controlled. Every institution should ban mobile phones.

Parents were really happy and satisfied when we implemented these rules. I met thousands of parents and they all supported me. As a Vice-Chancellor, I wanted to see that education is improved and students are employed. For that I implemented these rules.

The rules improved campus discipline and overall aptitude of learning in the campus. We got 100 percent placement. First time, we recorded off campus recruitment. Students’ concentration on studies improved, teachers were also happy.

But now they have been removed and rules have become more stringent. Students wearing branded T-shirts are also being targeted. There was even a rule for girls that they could not wear dupatta-having knots. Even a lecturer who was wearing a designer blouse was sent back home.

When students go for job, they will have to talk to women, what then? How can we not talk to both genders! Similarly, in Panimalar engineering college, girls and boys are made to sit separately. Parents should also understand their children on what they want. They should also question the authority when they make such rules and not be happy with it.

My friends, who are abroad, only remember the academic part of the college. Four years of college, we didn’t enjoy at all, because of rules everywhere. People go to college thinking that they will enjoy, but in such colleges, it is too much of rules and a mental pressure. It was like a prison. Even for girls churidar and patiala and for boys cotton and linen trousers were not allowed. Parents also have a dress code.

In some colleges mobile phones are not allowed in the classes, but in the college campus it is allowed. But in some colleges like Sairam, Panimalar, JPR engineering colleges, mobile is not allowed on the campus itself. College authorities confiscate and check the chat history in Sairam college. They are invading the privacy. Except colleges like SSN (Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar college of engineering), which is, quite liberal most of the engineering colleges do not have freedom. Till the age of 21 we are only studying, we also need to have some fun when we go to college. Colleges are not just meant for studies, some form of freedom should be allowed. I believe the entire system should be changed.