School Uniform Crisis

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School Uniform Crisis

Following a recent court ruling, schools all over the country are

re-assessing the way in which uniform policies are implemented and

enforced. Previously it has been widely accepted uniforms in schools

create a sense of unity and pride in the school. Indeed one of the

purposes of school is to prepare children for the adult world, where a

lot of jobs require a dress code. Students also don’t have to waste

time deciding what to wear, as punctuality is important in school.

When conducting practical lessons such as Design Technology, Science,

PE and even going on field trips, school uniforms are practical as

they are easy to wash and reasonably cheap to replace when damaged and

they do not get caught in machinery or cause other hindrance. Wearing

school uniform eliminates dress competition amongst students as some

are poorer than others and this can help prevent bullying. Most

importantly, uniform enables equal opportunity as everyone is dressed

the same therefore there can be no stereotyping.

A fifteen-year-old Muslim girl attending Denbigh High School in Luton,

Shabina Begum, was sent home to change by the school after arriving

wearing a strict form of Islamic dress called the jilbab. This is an

ankle length gown, which covers the whole body revealing only the face

and hands. Before this Shabina had worn the approved school uniform,

a compromise between secular and religious dress, since the age of

twelve. She accused the school of denying her the “right to education

and to manifest her religious beliefs.” (1) A series of court cases

began, and Mr. Justice Bennet sitting in the High Court ruled in

favour of...

... middle of paper ...

...ve too expensive for a state educational system. Instead It

may be best to consider a secular learning environment where all

religion is left at the school gates.

(1) BBC News UK edition website visited 30/03/05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4311193.stm Wednesday 2nd March

2005 18:11 GMT

(2)BBC News UK edition website visited 15/03/2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3808073.stm Tuesday 15th June

2004 16:18GMT

(3) BBC News UK edition website visited 30/03/05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4311193.stm Wednesday 2nd March

2005 18:11 GMT

(4) Qur’an, surah (verse) al Ahzab ayah 59 (33:59)

(5) Shariah TV 2 Program2 Thursday 31st March 2005 00:05

(6) Origination forum visited 10/04/2005

http:community.channel4.com/eve/ubb.x?a=frm&s=162603557&f=8476000511

Sunday 10th April 2005

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