On Wednesday, July 2, tensions increased at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) when a number of students were barred from accessing lecture halls due to an abrupt implementation of the dress code guideline. The affected students responded strongly to this.
In an anonymous statement on Citi Eyewitness News on Wednesday, July 2, a student bemoaned the lack of clarity in communication and the enforcement’s apparent inconsistency. The student feels that the instruction is ill-timed and applied selectively.
“A message was sent to us, I think, a week ago about the dress code. But to be honest, enforcement only begins when the Level 100 students resume. I’ve witnessed this trend. Anytime we’re on campus, they start enforcing it just to put fear in us.”
The student emphasized that Mondays are designated as official wear days under UPSA regulation and asked why students were being forced to dress formally on a Wednesday, which is not the standard dress code for the school.
On Monday, UPSA is dressed in formal clothes. However, you are forcing us to wear any official attire on a Wednesday, which is inappropriate,” the student continued.
The implementation of the clothing code caused havoc on campus, with some students—including those who were supposed to take tests—reportedly being expelled from classes as early as 7 a.m. According to reports, a large number of students were not aware that the policy would be aggressively enforced in the middle of the week, which caused confusion and increased discontent.
A female student of public relations was allegedly dragged by a man who was thought to be a staff member in a different incident, which raised more questions about how the dress code regulations are being implemented and upheld.