The classroom is important, not the uniform

News: Karnataka is seeing bitter clashes over the banning of hijab and the imposition of dress code in educational institutions.

Why inclusive nature of the classroom is a must for child development?

Students came from different religions, caste, nations, etc and have different dietary habits, cultures, customs, and traditions accordingly. For example, some wore the markers of their married status, some wore the symbols of their religion and caste, etc. So, it should be important to provide democratic access to students from all sections of society.

Coming together of many social worlds within classrooms makes it a location of constant learning. Where learning not only takes place through institutionalized pedagogy but also from dialogues with classmates, a student, a teacher which slowly becomes a community that will help live together as social groups. This inclusive nature of the classroom space also provides the space for students to think across the lines of gender and caste and religion and nationality.

Why dress code should not be allowed in the school curriculum?

If classrooms become means of disciplining students, then teaching gets replaced by indoctrination, and learning is replaced by parroting of political ideologies.
When education is embroiled in heat, creativity, and the joy of learning are destroyed.

When teachers become gatekeepers of parochial political interests, they forfeit the trust and responsibility that the community places on them.

Schools are such places students are taught uniformity, teachers close up the process of thinking and questioning. By banning hijab from classrooms, students are taught mistrust and hate and are trained in violence and anger. And educational institutions shut down the process of learning and experimenting to build an equal, inclusive, compassionate and intelligent society.

So it is important to listen to the faintest voice coming from every corner of the classroom. Students have a world of their own that should be heard and understood.

What should be the way forward?

Students and teachers, together, should have unfolded knowledge and has to function as companions, as friends and equals. Education has to be shaped by an egalitarian space provided by classrooms. It is important that the classrooms are protected and do not fall apart.

Source: This post is based on the article “The classroom is important, not the uniform” published in Indian Express on 10th February 2022.