MALAPPURAM: A dress code to distinguish between bright students and the less bright? That is unheard of anywhere in the world. But a smart private school at Pandikkad in the district had the audacity to introduce such a special dress code. However, following public protest, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) on Friday registered a suo motu case against the school authorities. The commission has asked the Deputy Director of Education, Malappuram, the school principal and the District Child Protection Officer to submit a report on the issue within 15 days.
The matter was brought to light by the Childline after it received complaints from students and parents pointing out the discrimination at the Al Farook English Medium School at Pandikkad. The self-financing CBSE school had asked 32 students to wear special dress while the rest followed the common uniform of the school which has around 800 students. The students were selected from fifth standard to 10. The ChildLine conducted a survey among the students to check the acceptance of the new system. “We found most of the students were unhappy with the dress code and felt discriminated. We have asked the school authorities to stop the practice but they kept justifying it.
The teachers of the school have also reservations about this kind of separation,” said Childline counsellor Muhammed Rashid. The Childline team visited the school three times before forwarding the case to the commission. Finally, the school authorities decided to withdraw the dress code on Thursday. “The system was launched as part of forming a students’ collective named Perfect Group. They were selected based on their academic and co-curricular activities and discipline. The intention was positive and there were no complaints against it,” Mr Abdul Kareem, principal, said.
