Universities clamp down on provocative student garb

Students wearing provocative clothing may be thrown out of the classroom, Vice-Chancellor Dr Ben Honyenuga of the Ho Technical University (HTU) in the Volta Region of Ghana warned. Students who wear political apparel face the same fate.

Honyenuga said he has “empowered lecturers to throw out from the classroom persons who appear in provocative dressing. We also do not tolerate wearing of political paraphernalia to lectures and other official functions of the universities”.

Emmanuel Martey, president of the Student Representative Council of the HTU, agrees with the vice-chancellor. He told University World News that “it is simply to keep the students properly dressed to lectures. The students did not have any problem with what he said.”

This is the second university to express concern over students’ dress code within the past month. In February, the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) recommended that students who wear indecent clothing on campus should not be allowed to attend lectures.

Vice-Chancellor of UPSA Professor Abednego F O Amartey, who issued the directive, said short skirts, torn jeans and other apparel that exposes vital parts of the body will not be allowed.

At the university’s 2021 matriculation or welcoming ceremony in Accra, Amartey said the directive followed an observation that some of the students admitted in the 2020-21 academic year wore “very inappropriate dress” on campus, against the professional ethics of the university.

Inappropriate clothing not allowed

“I have noticed that some of you have started wearing short skirts all over the place. The UPSA is a professional institution, and we dress very well,” Amartey said.

“We have directed lecturers that if you dress in an inappropriate manner, they should remove you from the lecture halls.

“You are not allowed to dress the way we have seen you dress these days. We allowed it in the past week because we assumed you did not know. Now you know, so there should not be excuses,” he added.

The directive from the two universities followed similar instructions by the Islamic University College of Ghana (IUCG) and the Presbyterian University College, Ghana (PUCG) five years ago.

In the case of the IUCG, all students are required to dress decently by means of a selection of fashion that does not violate the character of the college.

Farouk Abbas, who is a Muslim, told University World News that “faith-based universities should not only be seen to be giving out academic qualifications, they must also groom decent citizens and, therefore, what the IUCG and the PUCG have done is to blaze the trail for the other universities to be waking up to their responsibilities to society.”

Hair to be covered at all times

Students of the IUCG said the handbook they received reads: “The deliberate wearing of torn or patched jeans (both sexes), transparent and short skirts that reveal one’s awrat [nakedness] is not to be tolerated.

“Acceptable dress for Muslim services and formal public occasions, either national or international costume that does not violate the dress code guidelines below is encouraged.”

In addition, transparent, sheer, sleeveless, bare-back or tight-fitting blouses and sweaters are not allowed. Also, tight-fitting skirts and trousers are not permitted.

Dresses with low necklines or that do not fully cover the breasts, belly and armpits, will not be tolerated.

The university has also recommended that the hair shall be well covered with a veil of any type, provided it is decent and fully covers the hair at all times. However, the use of excessively large or distracting or flamboyant veils is not allowed.

“All female students are required to wear Hijab [head cover] on campus,” the IUCG insists. But some of the students said a colonial trait is being enforced because the “wearing of business suits with trousers or long skirts or slits is highly encouraged”.

Male students can no longer wear earrings and trousers or belts below waist level. Hair may not be permed or relaxed or braided, and using unnatural hair colours will not be allowed.

At the PUCG, male students are to avoid baggy trousers; extreme and wild haircuts, flip-flops, piercing and tattooing on visible parts of the body, striking jewellery, untrimmed beards and moustaches during lectures or official functions.

The women are equally required to avoid provocative dressing, wearing too much jewellery; extreme and wild hairstyles, loud lipstick and nail polish, piercing and tattooing on visible parts of the body and flip-flops.

Students’ views

Students do not agree about the necessity of dress codes.

Ella Ababio, a final-year student of the African University College of Communications in Accra, criticised rules prescribing how students should dress.

“It is absurd to implement a dress code in tertiary institutions. In my part of the world, students at tertiary level are young adults and they should be allowed to dress in whatever way they feel,” she said.

Ababio was emphatic that the use of the word “decent” to explain why students should conform to dress codes is subjective.

“Once the person wears what he or she is comfortable with, there is no need for anyone to complain. Professional institutions [employers] can go ahead to prescribe dress codes ...” Ababio said.

Loretta Odame Marfo, a final-year student at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, said there was nothing wrong in tertiary institutions imposing dress codes.

Some faculties in some of the universities, Marfo said, have already started. At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, students at the business and law faculties have prescribed dress codes.

She said the use of the dress code would reduce instances of indecent dressing at the institutions.

“Every institution has rules, ethics and regulations that must be followed,” Marfo added.