Saudi Gazette report

DAMMAM — A student counselor has called on the Ministry of Education to impose a strict dress code for female high school students during winter, Makkah daily reported.



Nora Muhammad, who works for a local school in Qatif, made these calls to put an end to the practice of wearing expensive fashionable clothes over school uniforms.



“Some girls have turned their high schools into a winter fashion show where they show off stylish clothes,” Muhammad said.



Currently there are no restrictions for clothes worn over school uniforms.



“Students used to compete with each other over who wears the most fashionable pair of shoes or carries the most expensive purses. But this winter, they seem to be more concerned with an ostentatious display of wealth than learning. This has added an additional financial burden on parents,” she said.



Muhammad said some students even sell their clothes to other students on school premises. “These practices do not belong — and should not be taking place inside — an educational environment,” she added.



Asked to comment, a source in the Eastern Province Education Department said the dress code for schools "is clear about what is allowed and what is not".



Sociologist Salma Al-Awami said it will be difficult to prevent girls from wearing trendy clothes inside or outside schools because the love of fashion, beauty and elegance are all innate feminine feelings. She said some schools tend to impose a lot of restrictions on what girls wear as if they were a military school. “This is why the girls break the rules. There should be some kind of balance between leniency and strictness when dealing with schoolgirls. Keeping up with the latest fashion trends is a common thing among women, not only schoolgirls. However, the ostentatious display of wealth among female students may lead to other problems such as unhealthy rivalries and jealousy, and this may even prompt some students to steal,” she said.