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It`s denim Vs Dengue in MCD schools!: The Pioneer
New Delhi, Oct 26: Come to think of it. A tiny mosquito is making human beings alter their sartorial behaviour. The ubiquitous jeans, till recently a no-no for schools, will now be part of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi`s dress code for girl students. And all this, believe it or not, is to prevent the dreaded Aedes mosquito from biting the legs of students.
New Delhi, Oct 26: Come to think of it. A tiny mosquito is making human beings alter their sartorial behaviour. The ubiquitous jeans, till recently a no-no for schools, will now be part of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's dress code for girl students. And all this, believe it or not, is to prevent the dreaded Aedes mosquito from biting the legs of students.
Whether this is a knee-jerk MCD reaction to the Dengue fright or a practical move remains to be seen. But the MCD appears serious with its denim directive to counter spread of Dengue. On Friday, the MCD issued a circular that girl students shall wear jeans as a precautionary measure. It also dashed off missives to private schools to allow girls to wear blue jeans. MCD officials think that by taking this step, they will be able to prevent the outbreak of disease in the schools.
Many girl students are already enthused, preparing to do what they wanted to do all these years, breaking free of the cast-iron dress code of skirts and salwar kameezes. For, many schools in Delhi have already asked their girl students to appear in winter clothing from coming Wednesday. They have been told to wear jeans instead of skirts.
Known as a day biter, the Aedes mosquito bites below the knees and elbows and hence the students, have been told to wear jeans and full sleeve shirt, leaving the tiny devils with hardly any target area. This is the first time in the Capital that private schools have been asked by the MCD to take the denim route. Although most schools have responded positively to the MCD missives, many feel that the move has come a tad late in the day. "The students have been told to wear winter dress and the girls will be coming in jeans from now on. The MCD, however, should have done this earlier. Now that the dengue has spread its wings like anything, the MCD has been waking up from a nap," said a teacher of the DAV Public School. "Not only that the schools run by the corporation but we have requested private schools as well to make their students wear fully covered clothes," said Ram Babu Sharma, Chairman, MCD Standing Committee. In the Municipal primary schools as well, the girls have been told to wear either pants or salwar kameez. "All the girls studying in the senior classes are supposed to wear suits, however, the primary students have also been told to come fully covered," said Seema Anand, a Municipal school teacher.
No doubt, the directive has not only left girl students an excited lot, but their parents, too, have heaved a sigh of relief. "This should have been done earlier. Everyday I used to request the teachers to let the girls wear pants," said Geetu Chawla, a parent. Come Wednesday, and the jeans-clad girls will arrive. "I am very excited, that I'll be going in jeans, but more than that my mom is relieved. Although I was not allowed to wear shorts even at home, having to wear skirts at school had her worried," said Priyanka Mittal, a student. For the MCD, it could possibly be a classic case of locking the stables after the horse has bolted. But, stung by the Dengue, the jeans may not be a bad after-thought, after all.
Known as a day biter, the Aedes mosquito bites below the knees and elbows and hence the students, have been told to wear jeans and full sleeve shirt, leaving the tiny devils with hardly any target area. This is the first time in the Capital that private schools have been asked by the MCD to take the denim route. Although most schools have responded positively to the MCD missives, many feel that the move has come a tad late in the day. "The students have been told to wear winter dress and the girls will be coming in jeans from now on. The MCD, however, should have done this earlier. Now that the dengue has spread its wings like anything, the MCD has been waking up from a nap," said a teacher of the DAV Public School. "Not only that the schools run by the corporation but we have requested private schools as well to make their students wear fully covered clothes," said Ram Babu Sharma, Chairman, MCD Standing Committee. In the Municipal primary schools as well, the girls have been told to wear either pants or salwar kameez. "All the girls studying in the senior classes are supposed to wear suits, however, the primary students have also been told to come fully covered," said Seema Anand, a Municipal school teacher.
No doubt, the directive has not only left girl students an excited lot, but their parents, too, have heaved a sigh of relief. "This should have been done earlier. Everyday I used to request the teachers to let the girls wear pants," said Geetu Chawla, a parent. Come Wednesday, and the jeans-clad girls will arrive. "I am very excited, that I'll be going in jeans, but more than that my mom is relieved. Although I was not allowed to wear shorts even at home, having to wear skirts at school had her worried," said Priyanka Mittal, a student. For the MCD, it could possibly be a classic case of locking the stables after the horse has bolted. But, stung by the Dengue, the jeans may not be a bad after-thought, after all.