I REFER to the commentary, 'Wearing shorts sluttish? Give me a break' (my paper, Jan 14), on dress codes for students.

One would have thought that at the tertiary level, the focus should be on the substance and quality of students' work, and not their appearance.

I cannot see how coloured hair or shorts and slippers are indicators of a student's ability.

Educational institutions should focus on their main priority, which is education, not fashion policing.

The institutions will be doing themselves and society a disservice by creating an environment wherein free expression is repressed.

I am against the idea of educational institutions producing subservient individuals who conform to the rules only because of the threat of punishment.

Those driven by the desire to learn will not choose a school based on how well it enforces its dress code.

Ultimately, the character of educational institutions should not be moulded according to the whims of their leaders or administrators, or according to their ideas of what constitutes decency.

As students are the major stakeholders in these institutions, they deserve a greater say in the content and relevance of these rules.

Mr Sebastian Tan

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