Uniforms to iron out disparities on campus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: From now on, the eves of NSS College, Neeramankara, will have to reserve their new pinches for blue moon days. Attires splashing with bright, exuberant tones have been given an adieu by the students of NSS College for Women. On Tuesday, a major bulk of the students walked in wearing cream-coloured uniforms with a striped overcoat. It was their first day in the college after uniforms were introduced for all the students by the college management. This is for the first time in the city that an arts college has introduced uniforms for its students. Though the new outfit missed the usual glitz, the ever-sparkling ebullience continued to play on the pretty faces. "The children have been really appreciative of our decision to make uniforms compulsory. They have not shown a grim face to uniforms. We are extremely glad about the way our students have accepted the decision,’’ says K Padmavathi, Principal, NSS College.The idea of uniform for the college students first turned up in the tutors’ meeting held in the college few months back. The tutors told the Principal about the grave economic disparities that existed among the students in the college. When a solution was sought, the meeting decided upon introducing uniforms for the students. The decision was readily agreed to even in the executive meeting that was held later."Some of the parents told us that they will be blessed by such a decision. The children from poor families often go through enormous emotional stress when they can’t match up with their richer friends. This is just a small step. But we know that it can go a long way in reducing the disparities,’’ says the Principal.The Principal admits that there were a few voices of dissonance. ‘’Dissonance is part of every decision. But majority of students, parents and college staff stood by us, which was very important.’’Beyond the reasons, the teachers say that all the students were excited to back the introduction of uniforms. By the end of this week, the uniforms will be fully introduced in the college.