Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Missing colourful attire

Chennai: Children dressed in their Sunday best, teachers performing for them on stage, a day without class test, no books to school and a day when you get goodies. Are these what strike you most when you talk of Children’s Day in schools?

Call it fortunate or unfortunate; today most schools in the city insist that students come in uniform on Children’s Day. The myriad colours one witnessed on campuses in the colourful clothes that children wore on their special day is missing, making it like any other school day.

Ask Simran Bajaj and Mahima Mehta, one thing they like to see their school introduce on Children’s Day, they reply: “Allow us to wear colour dresses at least on our day.” Similar sentiment was shared by few Class VIII girls of Maharishi Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School.

From last year, the tradition of wearing colour clothes was discontinued as the school thought students differentiated other classmates, say the students of Chinmaya Vidyalaya. One could, perhaps, dismiss the debate on uniform or civil dress as a minute issue, but then don’t be surprised if one of the higher secondary school students have an examination schedule for the day. Teachers and principals say uniforms were mandatory more as an identity.

As children are busy taking part in inter and intra-school competitions, it becomes easy to manage them when they are in their uniforms.

“Deepavali is the only time when children buy new dresses. So, we allow them to wear new clothes,” says Padmini Sriraman, principal, The Hindu Senior Secondary School.

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