According to an internal memo sent to all students on January 24, 2023, Kabarak University has instructed students to strictly adhere to a “standard dress code” at all times.
“This is to remind all students that they should dress according to the modesty and grooming standards (standard attire for ladies and for men). Students should adhere to the Kabarak University Students Handbook Clause 9.7, which stipulates that all students are expected at all times to dress according to the modesty and grooming standards,” reads the internal memo signed by university Dean of Students Dorcas Githaiga.
“All students should also observe the Wednesday chapel dress code that requires all ladies to be dressed in modest skirts and dresses. Note that dressing smartly gives God honour and enhances our personality and professionalism,” the statement further reads.
Dressing inappropriately
In the memo obtained by the local media, university students are cautioned not to dress inappropriately on university grounds.
According to a source at the university in Nakuru, the management of the school is troubled by a trend whereby students have been seen wearing miniskirts and ripped jeans, among other outfits, on its grounds and even in churches.
“The university management got concerned after some students dropped their guard and started wearing inappropriate attire even to the university chapel, “revealed a university official.
“All students are expected to dress in simple, decent, modest and appropriate attire,” added the official.
Kabarak University’s directive comes just two weeks after Kenya Methodist University dispatched a similar memo warning students reporting after holidays to adhere to the institution’s prescribed dress code.
Transparent dresses
In a memo dated January 5, 2023, and signed by Dr Esther Mbaabu, the Dean of Students at the university, made public some of the outfits and fashions they will not accept in the institution including;
- mini-skirts,
- skin-tight trousers,
- ripped jeans,
- tumbo cuts,
- bum shorts, and
- transparent dresses revealing parts of the body and inner clothing.
The university also asked male students to avoid:
- dreadlocks,
- plaited hair and
- earrings.
- clothes revealing the chest.
The University of Eldoret also recently issued a memo warning its students against dressing inappropriately within the varsity premises.
The memo has drawn immediate criticism from a section of the student population who feel that some of the prescribed dress code was old-fashioned.
Some students also argue that some mode of dressing is also acceptable in modern workplaces including miniskirts and dreadlocks.
