I wanted to collect myself before I shared with you an incident of harassment I faced when I went to take the UGC NET at Delhi Public School, Siliguri. I felt too humiliated and betrayed by the system of education in our country to write anything sooner.
I have worn a particular jumpsuit to almost all the exams I have taken in the last five years. I feel comfortable and relaxed in this attire especially during summer.
DPS, Siliguri, which was my centre for the NET exam, refused me entry because they found my clothes “indecent”. I was first verbally shamed for my choice of clothes by a teacher and then I was left with only two options. I would’ve either had to change my clothes and return or I would have had to miss the exam.
I am sure this sounds outrageous to most of you and I do not probably need to explain why. However, I would like to underscore a few points.
1. The UGC NET guidelines do not mention any dress code on the admit card. There was possibly no way to anticipate the school’s expectation about dress norms.
2. I, personally, am against the imposition of dress codes in general, but if any institution is bent on practising moral policing they must find a way to inform the students beforehand. I have not faced any problem for wearing the same attire to any other institution where I have attended classes or taken exams. How can applicants for a lecturer’s position expect that they shall be subjected to such “rules” at any school premises?
3. The UGC guidelines do not permit students to wear watches or any kind of metal. DPS, Siliguri, allowed students to enter wearing watches, but I was refused entry for my clothing – something that the guidelines are silent about. I had meticulously gone through the rules mentioned on the admit card before appearing for the exam.
4. I could change and return to the school only because I had reached the centre early enough. My father had accompanied me to the exam centre; so I had him drive me back and forth. I would have surely missed the exam if I were one of those coming from pretty distant places.
I was exposed to tremendous risk that morning. My father drove me back in panic and we could have met with an accident. I was feeling harassed and that certainly affected my performance in the exam.
One may have reservations against rules laid out for exams. But my point is that it is worse and entirely unjust to encounter an arbitrary punishment minutes before an important exam when there is no rule printed on the admit card that mentions any dress code. I have written a complaint to the CBSE at net@cbse.gov.in. I hope to hear from them soon.
(Tirna Sengupta is doing her Masters in English at the University of Delhi. She enjoys both creative and academic writing. She is currently working on projects that try to make Bharatanatyam more egalitarian and inclusive.)
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