Salwar, always

Ranchi, May 8: Jeans out, sari in. Body-hugging tops are simply banned, go for long skirts instead.

In a city where colleges are known for imposing dress codes on students this may not be surprising but the logic behind it — to be followed by St Xavier’s and Doranda colleges this year — is quite a lot.

While principals of both the colleges stress on the “discipline” factor and also to “differentiate” students from outsiders, some students also appreciated the decision to maintain a level of “decency” on the campuses.

Doranda College principal Ram Parvesh had given students an interesting option also. “It’s not that everyday students have to come in the prescribed dress code but instead we have just fixed Monday and accordingly we will make all six days for the students to come in prescribed dress code if that is at all necessary,” he said.

However, it is still not known how the college would differentiate students on the remaining five days.

Girls of the intermediate section in Doranda College have been asked to come in white salwar suit with coffee colour dupatta. While for boys it is coffee colour trouser and white shirt.

St Xavier’s College — which will impose the rule in July-end — has given a choice to girls between salwar suit, skirt (below knee) and trousers. For boys it will be shirts, trousers and shoes.

With this, the colleges have entered in the league of Nirmala College and Ranchi Women’s College which had already put the dress code in place.

The colleges have made the code at intermediate level only and not at graduation level. The reasons cited by the principals are that students at graduation level would oppose vehemently as they would feel that there is no difference between school and college and many students do not wish to be identified in the particular college dress code in public places.

Nicholas Tete, the principal of St Xavier’s College, said: “We have seen that the students of other colleges enter the class especially in science section and attend the lectures. As far as discipline is concerned, we are also separating the intermediate section from main building. We felt that in other Plus Two schools students are coming in strict dress code so why not our college?”

But students of Ranchi Women’s College, where the dress code was imposed several years ago, said it is no longer followed strictly. “We have stopped our prescribed white salwar and pink dupatta. But decency should be maintained on the campus,” said Nutun Kumari, a second-year student of English.