Wear your shoes or pay fine, KMEA college tells students

Kochi: Even  professional colleges are imposing ridiculous rules on the campuses in Kerala. In one such incident,  Aluva-based KMEA College fined several engineering students Rs 10 for not wearing shoes, that too on a rainy day. Mobile phones, leggings, skirts, T-shirts and  earphones are  banned in many colleges in Kerala.  They are also imposing strict rules like ban on girls and boys sitting together in libraries, use of mobile phones even in hostels, wearing jeans etc. A student of KMEA College said that he did not wear shoes one day as it was raining heavily.  “The authorities didn't spare me and asked me to pay a fine. They were reluctant to consider the reason for not wearing shoes,” he said.

College principal T.K. Mani said that the college has a strict dress code.  “We normally warn the students and if they repeat the mistake, we will fine them. The amount is small  and it is for keeping discipline,” he   said  and added that shoes are for safety purposes. An  engineering student of Saintgits college, who had recently passed out, had another experience when he didn't tuck in his shirt. The authorities fined him Rs 50. “I bargained and they finally fixed it at '25,”  said Jobin Varghese of Kottayam.