Being a college student, you do get a lot of freedom as you think of wearing exciting clothes and looking good. A typical college student would like to enjoy the freedom to decide what they want to wear, as they have just graduated from wearing a uniform in school, and expect some liberties.
The dress code doesn’t have any kind of a relationship with the knowledge of law, or the discipline one requires to sustain oneself as one becomes a lawyer.
However, while studying law, students are often told to wear a uniform at least thrice a day, in different universities. This is just to add pressure onto the students as one can get bored wearing the same kind of clothes everyday.
It’s fine if during moot court competitions and internships, one needs to dress up like a lawyer to look professional. Discipline is something one has already learned in school while wearing uniforms, as most schools don’t allow their students to wear casual clothes.
Many students feel pressurised about the fact that their freedom to wear what they want in college, has been snatched. College authorities shouldn’t snatch the right of students to wear what they want.
After all, the Indian constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion and expression. In college, every person is a mature adult. And, as adults, we know how to govern ourselves. Dress code is surely not going to bring about discipline in learning law.
Many colleges even cut the attendance of students who might be present in class, but are technically not following the dress code meant for students. Uniforms are just fine when you enter areas where you need to assert your professionalism: courts and law firms… But, not everywhere else!
Studying law is burdensome to begin with, and if we remove the dress code obligation, then I believe that students will have more space to focus on their studies. One doesn’t get to enjoy a lot in college right now, but one should as it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a student.
Once we step out of college or university, we become professionals. Those who want to dress up like a lawyer can surely dress up, but it is important to note that every student doesn’t appreciate the dress code.
We do come to universities for learning, but it’s necessary that we also get the freedom to pick what we should wear, as that makes a student learn without the burden of adhering to a dress code.
The dress code is just a burden and no student should be forced to wear formals if they prefer wearing casuals.
The UGC (University Grants Commission), and the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), in two separate notifications, reprimanded law colleges for practicing discrimination against female students, when it comes to uniforms.
College life already has a lot of pressures and a dress code only adds to that. The sense of freedom that students get in colleges is also what makes them want to go to college, and study there.
No one should have the right to cut someone’s attendance just because the person is not dressed as per a rigid dress code.