Students defy school rules with ‘no-uniform’ protest
Students taking part in a campaign to boycott school uniforms received a mixed response when they turned up for class in their casual clothes on Tuesday.
The KKC Pakee Students group issued a clarion call last Thursday urging students to dress casually on Tuesday and to not be afraid of questioning the need to wear uniforms.
Photos of the casually dressed students at school began circulating online today, drawing praise from some internet users but fierce criticism from others.
Only small groups of students reportedly joined the protest. Several schools allowed them to attend classes as normal, including Bangkok’s prestigious Triam Udom Suksa and Satriwithaya schools, and Khon Kaen Wittayayon.
In other cases, schools banned students in casual clothes from attending class.
One Facebook video showed students in uniform protesting at a school with cries of “free our friends”. The poster said it was recorded at Satree Wat Mahapruttaram School in Khon Kaen province, where students dressed casually were separated from their classmates.
The self-mockingly titled “Bad Student” group set up a website where students can report the names of schools that punish them for not wearing uniforms.
As of 6.10pm on Tuesday, Saint Joseph Convent topped the ranking with 709 reports, followed by Assumption Convent (472), Sriracha School (360), and Suranaree Wittaya (315).
The KKC anti-uniform campaign also produced playful photos of a student in a Winnie-the-Pooh costume, and students wearing yellow shirts to mock royalists.
A Phetchabun student who was reportedly the only person in the province to take part in the campaign escaped punishment by his school.
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