Teachers Have Right To Dress: Kerala Higher Education Minister Bindu Issues Circular After Saree Row

The Minister issued a circular despite an existing order after a report said that Kerala college told a qualified lecturer to wear only sarees to classes every day.

Kerala Higher Education Minister Bindu | Credit: Twitter

Chennai: The practice of imposing sarees on teachers is not conducive to Kerala's progressive attitude, said a circular issued by Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu on Friday after a row that a Kerala college asked a qualified lecturer to not wear salwar to classes. 

The Minister also took to Twitter and said that she spoke to young lecturers a few days ago, who told her about their experiences at educational institutions similar to the incident. 

In a circular, the Minister said, "The govt has already made clear its stance in this regard multiple times. Teachers have every right to dress as per their comfort in Kerala regardless of the kind of institutes they work at."

Further, she said, "This practice of imposing saree on our teachers is not conducive to Kerala's progressive attitude."

The Minister further explained about her experience as a teacher where she said,  "When I was teaching at Kerala Varma, I used to wear churidars regularly. While a teacher has several responsibilities, adhering to such outdated & obsolete ideas is not one of them."

Batting to the progressive idea, she said, "One's choice of dressing is an entirely personal matter. No one has the right to criticize or interfere in another's sartorial choices."

The Minister also recalled that a circular stating the same was issued on May 9, 2014, but still went on to issue another circular on the same lines since many institutions reportedly failed to implement such policies and news reports brought them to her attention.