Several Calcutta schools have taken note of parents being "dressed inappropriately" when they come to drop their children and at least two have clamped restrictions on entering the campus in sleepwear and other such attire.

South City International School has issued a notice asking parents not to visit the institute "wearing home clothes or sleepwear". St. James' School has instructed its security team to stop parents dressed in shorts at the gate till they get permission from the office to allow them into the campus.

Any such request is invariably turned down, of course.

Parents routinely walking in with their children in attire inappropriate for any public place prompted South City International School to step in after deliberating what to do for a long time.

Fathers often turn up in boxer shorts and mothers in their gym attire, both of which the institute considers "environment appropriate clothing" that doesn't fit into a school setting. "Kindly be dressed appropriately/decently when ENTERING the school. Kindly do not enter the school wearing home clothes or sleepwear. It sets a negative example for students," states the notice.

John Bagul, principal of South City, said the move was meant to remind parents of the importance of propriety in a school environment, starting with one's attire. "Since our school is located beside the residential towers (of South City), many parents come in their sleepwear or exercise outfits. They have to understand that they are not going out to jog or for a walk on their campus, they are coming to a school. Our teachers also feel uncomfortable when they see parents dressed like that," said John Bagul, principal of South City.

The problem isn't restricted to South City. Campuses where residential proximity is not a factor such as St. James' and La Martiniere for Boys have also had to deal with parents turning up at school in night attire.

"If parents are coming to school to meet the teacher or for any other purpose, they have to be in something decent. We have a dress code that is to be followed by students and the same message has to go out to parents too. We now tell parents during orientation that they have to dress appropriately when they come to school," said Terence Ireland, principal of St. James'.

La Martiniere for Boys is contemplating how to communicate dress restrictions to parents without offending them. Since parents of Nursery, KG and Class 1 students enter the campus to drop and pick up their children, this is a recurring problem.

"Some of them come in shorts and slippers, which is not what we expect them to wear to school," said an official.

South City's decision to go ahead with a formal notice came after careful consideration, lest some parents take the dress code as an infringement on their rights. "We had a long debate on this and then we found out that some institutes in Mumbai and Bangalore had adopted the same policy," principal Bagul recalled.

Some other schools feel the same way but have refrained from issuing any kind of communication because parents are not allowed beyond the gate anyway.

At Mahadevi Birla World Academy, parents in shorts waiting at the gate are a common sight. "They come to drop their kids and usually wait at the gate till the children are inside the school building. Parents should use their discretion and not step out from their cars if they are not appropriately dressed," said an official.

Devi Kar, director of Modern High, said she would object if anyone came to a parent-teacher meet dressed in shorts, but not if the person stood at the gate while his or her child entered the campus.

Why do/don't you think parents need a school dress code? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com