How tertiary institutions battle indecent dressing on campuses

In their bid to curtail the rising trend of indecent dressing among students on campuses, tertiary institutions have come up with various measures, Daily Trust Saturday reports.

Students of tertiary institutions, in their quest to align with the trending fads and fashion styles, often go to classes in skimpy and tattered dresses considered to be inappropriate and indecent.

Managements of many tertiary institutions who frown at such trends have come up with dress codes and disciplinary measures to address the menace.

At Bayero University, Kano (BUK), for instance, the authorities had overtime adopted different strategies to control inappropriate dressing. The recent one is the introduction of a dress code.

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At the entrance gate of the university, a giant signpost on approved dress code portraying the pictures of students who dressed decently is very conspicuous.

The notice indicates that wearing shorts, singlet, transparent cloths, tinted hair and multi-coloured braid, among others, are forbidden.

BUK’s Deputy Registrar, Public Affairs, Lamara Garba, said the management also ordered security men and lecturers to ensure that no student is allowed into the school or classrooms dressed indecently.

According to Lamara, the students are regularly monitored by the Student Affairs officials upon entrance into the premises.

“It is painful for a student to come to school and wouldn’t be allowed in. As he or she goes back home, they may miss tests or exams,” he said.

He said the management had made it clear that students must dress decently.

He said male students must also dress decently, adding that they were not allowed to wear earrings or plait their hair, wear tattered jeans, among other things that go against the norms and values of the Hausa society.

He further said wearing sunglasses in the classroom, except on medical ground, as well as wearing anything that contravenes decency, decorum and good taste of community was prohibited.

He said although there were no stiffer sanctions for violating the dress code, many students abide by the rules.

Some students who spoke with our reporter suggested that enacting strict regulations and empowering a body to enforce it, as well as sanctioning offenders, were sure ways of curbing the act.

Others said it could be tamed by orientation and reorientation of students on the need to dress decently at all times.

A student said universities should create and strengthen regulatory bodies so as to enforce stricter rules on dressing.

“They should ensure regular inspection of students, as well as strict punishment on offenders. This will surely help.

“Students should be lectured on good dress ethics since they are in the learning field,” she said.

Khadija Ibrahim, a student of the Federal College of Education, Kano, recommended continuous sensitisation of students on the need for proper dress ethics, saying, “There should be orientation and reorientation on the need for decency in dressing.

A student of the Kano State Polytechnic, Fatima Ibrahim, revealed that only cover-up dresses were acceptable in their institution.

“For females, sleeveless dresses, skimpy gowns and trousers are prohibited, except with long hijabs,” she said.

Most of the students who spoke to Daily Trust Saturday opposed the introduction of dress code regulation by the university.

A BUK student, Samira Ali, said the dress code regulation was too rigid for them.

“Honestly, the dress code introduced by the management is too rigid. I don’t see how the issue of dressing becomes relevant to the learning process. Remember that we wear these cloths from our homes and our parents do not question us about it,” she said.

Another student, Elizabeth Kayode, said the dress code was a total infringement on human rights of the students.

“We want the school management to review the dress code as many of us find it difficult to abide by it. Besides, I see it as infringement on our right,” she said.

For Fatima Hamisu, the dress code regulation is for the students’ safety.

“For me, the regulation is for our own good as it protects us from becoming victims of rape. You know when a girl dresses decently, she solves about 80 per cent of being so attractive to men,” she said.

In Kogi, managements of institutions have not hidden their disdain for indecent dressing by students in their campuses.

The managements of the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Federal University, Lokoja and Prince Abubakar Audu University Anyigba in the state have put up measures to ensure that students comply with morally accepted mode of dressing in their various campuses .

Daily Trust Saturday gathered that the three citadels of learning have introduced departmental dress code for students as a mark of identity in the campus, particularly during lecture hours.

It was learnt that the introduction of a distinct departmental dress code is a strategy to discourage immoral dressing on the campuses of these institutions.

According to the public relations officer of the Kogi State-owned polytechnic, Lokoja,  Mrs Uredo Omale, the management of the institution has introduced a dress code to promote decency and  morality in order to stem the tide of vices.

“The present management of the institution headed by Dr Salisu Ogbo frowns at indecent dressing on the campus.

“The institution has drawn out an acceptable mode of dressing where students of the institution have been strictly warned to comply with or face its consequences,” she said.

She added that security operatives of the institution have been mandated to enforce the law without minding the statuses of students.

To ensure the seriousness of the institution over the issue, billboards were mounted at the main entrance of the institution, advising the students on the type of dressing classified as indecent or otherwise.

According to students of the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL),  the management of the institution is so strict over indecent dressing that the campus security, in most cases, had  turned  back   students from the gate.

“The school management will not tolerate female students wearing skimpy dresses or revealing outfits. They also don’t allow male students to wear earrings to campus or lecture rooms.

“If such student managed to escape from the main gate, the lecturer will drive him/ her out of the class. Many students have been embarrassed for violating the dressing rules,” a student who identified herself as Yemisi Adebayo said.

A task force was said to have been set up by the institution, effective from January, 2023 to enforce the acceptable dress code at the FUL as designed by the institution.

According to the dress code booklet from the FUL, students and members of staff who dress indecently shall be denied access to the campus, classrooms and offices.

“Indecent dressing is immoral. Staff and students are expected to dress with a high sense of morality at all times, especially while they are on campus.

“In order to guide our mode of dressing, the acceptable code has been prepared for students and staff.

“However, FUL allows wearing of smart traditional attires which do not contravene the general dress code, corporate dresses for professional courses, such as Law, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Medicine; religious or denominational dress; veil/normal hijab, which do not contravene the general dress code; costumes by students in the Performing Arts during periods of performance,” a member of the FUL task force on dress code said.

According to the public relations officer of the Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba (PAU), The Rev Damian Amana, the institution views indecent dressing among students in the form of wearing revealing outfits like spaghetti and wrong haircut, among others as offences.

He said enough orientation was carried out in conjunction with the student union body and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with acceptable dress code in the campus.

An enforcement committee is said to have been established to that effect, while lecturers, faculties and campus security were said to be on hand to enforce the rules  as stipulated.

“When caught, defaulting students are sent out from lecture rooms or on campus. Some have been arraigned in accordance with the enabling law of the dress code.

In Benue State, some tertiary institutions also introduced decent dressing as part of code of conduct for students.

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the Benue State University (BSU) and Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM), formerly known as Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), already spelt out the mode of dressing prohibited on their campuses and the penalties for offenders.

For instance, both universities, in separate internal memos, approved dress codes for students and set up committees to enforce it.

The security department of the institutions, including all unit heads and zonal commanders, are expected to enforce the dress codes accordingly.

Some of the acceptable dress codes for male students indicated that their hair should be well combed at all times and the cuts should not be coloured or carry any inscription, while artificial curled hair, dreadlocks, plaiting, weaving, braiding  are not acceptable.

Also, beards must be well kept, and clothing jewellery with cult connotation would not be allowed.

On the other hand, all wears by female students should be below the knee and hairstyles should be neatly packed and weaved. Hair extension with colours, such as blue, green, white, yellow, red pink and purple or a combination of any of these colours is not acceptable.

While trousers are allowed for females, it should be complemented with tops that cover the buttocks. The institutions also banned all forms of indecent dressing by both male and female students, including tight fitting, transparent wears, ripped jeans, t-shirts with obscene inscriptions depicting immorality, hooliganism and cultism.

Others are body tattoos by male students, leggings, trousers with short tops, skimpy dresses like spaghetti, camisole, body hugs, shorts, knickers, bathroom slippers and heavy makeup.

The institutions mandated the task force to bar improperly dressed students from entering the campuses, offices, lecture and examination halls, even as penalties for the erring students in JOSTUM showed a four-week suspension and warning letters.

A student of the BSU, Msendoo Kertyo, said many students, including her, now abide by the dress code to avert trouble.

The head of Information Unit at the BSU, Tse Vanger, told our correspondent on telephone that the standing committee had continued to enforce the dress code on campus, adding that erring students were always turned back at the school gate and asked to go and dress properly before gaining entrance.

Vanger said the enforcement of descent dressing in the institution had been remarkable.

Similarly, the Nasarawa State-owned Isah Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic (IMAP), has vowed to suspend any student caught perpetrating immoral dressing for one academic year, according to the law establishing the school.

The public relations officer of the institution, Mr Ali Hassan Mohammed, said this in a telephone interview with Daily Trust Saturday in Lafia.

Our correspondent reports that the Academic Board of the institution had suspended no fewer than seven students for one academic session at its recent meeting for their involvement in the display of indecency, thereby tarnishing the reputation of the institution.

The students of the institution were reportedly caught displaying immoral pictures on the social media during a graduation celebration.

Mohammed disclosed that the management of the institution stationed security men at the gate to check indecent dressing among students.

He said the school management had also mandated lecturers to watch out for students promoting indecent dressing, adding that any student that bypasses the security personnel at the gate and gains entrance into the school premises and lecture halls with indecent dressing should not be allowed to attend classes.

The rector of the polytechnic, Dr Justina Anjiode Kotso, warned all the students to shun any form of social vice and anything capable of putting them into trouble, reiterating that the management of the school would not compromise standards and academic excellence.

A lecturer in the Department of English, Federal University, Lafia, Dr Attah Michael Abashi, condemned indecent dressing and appealed to parents and guardians to always watch out and focus for what their children wear while going to school.

Abashi, who is also the departmental exams officer, explained that the menace could be eradicated if parents lived up to expectation by drawing the attention of their children on the danger of indecent dressing across various institutions of learning.

While commending the Federal University, Lafia for stationing security personnel at the school gate to check indecent dressing, he called on parents and guardians to join hands with the university to fight the menace.

Furthermore, a student from the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, told our correspondent that the school had stepped up efforts to deter students from dressing indecently by paying unscheduled visits to school campuses and collaborating with security agents within and outside the premises to address the situation.

He, however, said that most times, punishment for culprits are “mild” like collecting their school identity cards, school fees receipts or any other means of identifications until they do the needful, adding that the measures have been quite effective but may need to be reviewed.

On her part, a female student of the University of Ilọrin, said the school had “slowed down” on the issue, unlike before the coronavirus saga.

“Recently, a committee on dress code was set up and they are always in strategic areas stopping students with improper dressing. There was also a sensitisation rally where leaflets containing the acceptable style of dressing on campus were distributed.

“However, the dress code rules are stricter during examinations where defaulters and others with unaccepted hairstyles are disallowed into the examination hall. Punishments don’t go beyond warning,” she added.

Another student of the University of Ilọrin said the enforcement had been low since his admission into the school.

“Some students still dress indecently within the school environment, except few cases, mostly during exams, where student are sent back to their hostels to dress well,” he said.

Speaking on the issue, the Director of University Relations of the KWASU, Dr Saeedat Aliyu, told Daily Trust Saturday that the university employs an all-inclusive mechanism where the student union plays a key role along with the management.

“Sanctions are available for offenders, including sending them out of the campus, among other stiffer penalties,” she added.

The Director of Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin, Mr Kunle Akogun, said the school maintained strict rules and regulations on indecent dressing.

Also, the Taraba State University, Jalingo, is enforcing dress code for both male and female students.

The Director of Information of the university, Sanusi Saad, told our correspondent that the dress code came into force in 2022 and the authorities is serious about it.

He said any student found violating the law within the university premises was usually sent away.

Saad further said that apart from dress code, the university also enforced law on indecent behaviours.

He said that so far, no student had been caught violating the dress code and indecent behaviors.

The Director, Quality Assurance, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Prof Ebenezer Ogungbe, said the institution had zero tolerance for indecent dressing.

He said any student violating the stipulated dress code would first be referred to the guidance and counseling unit of the institution for proper orientation.

He said that as an institution in the North where indecent dressing is highly prohibited, there was high level of compliance to dress code among students.

At the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, students told our correspondent that the school is strict on enforcing decent dressing.

“FUT is very strict when it comes to the issue of dressing. A student can be barred from writing exams or sent out of the examination hall during exams if she or he dresses indecently. So, there’s high level of compliance among students,” one of the students, Suleiman Isah said.

The Federal Polytechnic, Bida has an indecent dressing committee situated under the Servicom Unit of the institution to checkmate violation of the approved dress code in the institution.

Dr Zubairu Ibrahim Tswachi, a chief lecturer in the Department of Business Administration and Management in the polytechnic, told Daily Trust Saturday that committee members were placed at the school gate everyday to send back every student whose dressing fails to conform with the dress code.

He said lecturers were also obliged to send violators out of lectures, explaining, “Sometimes such dressings are seized by the indecent dressing committee, especially from boys found wearing earrings and necklaces. We don’t tolerate that. We don’t manhandle students, but sanctions range from seizing such materials or sending them back home to change.”

In Adamawa, the authorities of Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, said they were satisfied with the level of students’ compliance with the school’s dress code.

When contacted, the information officer of the institution, Aminu Julde, said the university’s efforts at sensitization, which include students’ handbook containing the rules, erection of billboards and posters at strategic locations, among other measures, had paid off.

A lecturer, Dahiru Usman Haruna, said he and many others did not allow students with indecent dressing into lecture halls, adding that there are two levels of enforcements.

“Security men at the gate do not allow indecently dressed students into the campus, and lecturers often send offenders out of class. The rules are known to every student as contained in the students’ handbook, so the level of compliance is commendable,” he said.