SGdiaries

Button up, tuck, adjust, repeat yet somehow – the discussion surrounding uniforms is stitched deeper than the strings of flawless dress shirts and crisp white collars. Though every inseam has to remain identical, the wearers are, evidently, not.

In Singapore, where crests stand as emblems and colors as prestige, uniforms are icons of students’ institutions and latch onto some part of their blooming social identity. 

As early as the 1930s, all English and Chinese schools were already adopting uniforms for both male and female students. At Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, one of the oldest standing institutions to date, the pupils wore the baju panjang and sarong as borrowed from Peranakan culture, as well as the Chinese sam foo. 

The principles behind identical uniforms

The unique importance Singapore’s school system places on order, punctuality, and precision is written into every rulebook since the 50s. From identically proper shirts with visible crests to inch close skirt lengths and white socks, every neat facet of students’ appearances plays its part in maintaining image. 

There are practical shared reasons for the uniform, of course, such as the maintaining of discipline as a principle. This reinforces itself into student life through respect for peers, academics and punctuality, values to remember when learning. More than this, uniforms serve as an important form of equality in a country where differences in socioeconomic status, race and religion coexist.

They remind students that regardless of such, they are equal and united through ties to education and their specific institution’s values. The discussion surrounding such an age-old yet Singapore-specific tradition poses questions – do uniforms live up to their branding as practical? Does the standard of uniformity smother what could be our youth’s outlet of self-expression? 

The dress code’s gender inconsistencies

As a student at a particular international school, the importance of self-discovery through clothing is preached alongside ‘do not smoke!’ at assemblies.

This approach is further vibrantly displayed through how common casual hoodies, shorts and most (reasonable) garments under the sun have become in school. For what felt longer than the 6 am hours I spend blankly staring at my ‘wardrobe of freedom’, I had to explain the reasoning behind our misfit madness : that displays of personal identity, choice and educational focus could coexist.

‘So inappropriate! How can you concentrate on your studies?’ is a harsh extreme of the incredulity bluntly exclaimed at our lack of structure. Though an exaggeration and largely not representative of everyone, dress codes on non-uniform attire do pose controversy surrounding gender double standards, being overly lenient and difficult enforcement. So, with uniforms, the policing of a thousand variations of a shirt and ‘how many fingers do my tank top straps have to equal to pass?’ is unheard of. 

I will say, gender double standards and other issues with the dress code are born not from leniency but from severe scrutiny of uniforms. Based on testimonies from an ‘aware’ (association of women for action and research) report on equality in schools, gender-specific uniforms set up different garments to police.

Whether in uniform or not, female students tend to be disproportionately warned against ‘distracting’ their peers by revealing certain areas of their body, creating enforcement norms that don’t translate to their male counterparts. For female students in local schools, skirt lengths tend to be the item of inspection, leaving teachers looking for the incriminating lack or presence of a few more inches of fabric.

Girls have found their ways to oppose this, creatively lengthening or shortening skirts to satisfy their needs, a quiet instance of personal expression. The voice of a current school girl in Singapore through her ‘Rice Media’ article on girls’ uniforms expresses a lack of efficiency : in the seconds spent putting skirts on and the need to wear safety shorts underneath. The author ultimately stands with the proposition of allowing girls a pants or skirt choice while emphasizing the difficulty of changing a long-standing practice.

Uniforms and tests of practicalities

In the practicality debate, school uniforms have time and money on their side, letting parents and students buy a couple of the required, identical pieces in bulk. There is no time lost deciding on a different combination of clothes every morning, nor is there pressure to keep up with trends or envy classmates based on what they can afford or choose to wear.

When inevitable issues arise with uniforms, school systems in Singapore have proven that they are open to adapt, gaining information through student testimonies and conducting faculty surveys. Heat waves plagued the daily news in the peak months of March, where secondary students were permanently stationed by air conditioner vents and found it impossible to complete PE. Schools promptly responded by shifting to light-weight, sweat resistant fabrics and substituting formal blazers for polo tees.

To end on the most evident front, how can students express themselves through rigid rules of no jewelry, make up or deviations in hairstyle? In the academic environment, students are encouraged to differentiate themselves through convictions, beliefs, talents and actions.

The system of uniforms does reap its rewards. The Straits Times reported that the results of student testimonies on whether they are in favor of the uniform yielded the general consensus that ‘yes, it’s just easier.’ While still maintaining every day consistency, schools could possibly look into one-off days where students can dress more casually for special occasions.

This subjectively delicate sense of belonging is difficult to pinpoint yet crucial to the development and social identity of our youths. Do we find that we ‘belong’ in the uniformity of our shirts or through the ability to express who we are through clothing? Or rather, does unison stem from the friendships we make, school events we go to as a house, or upholding institutional values of integrity and compassion?

With adaptability, sensitivity to issues and an open-spirit, uniforms can continue to be a staple of school culture and Singapore’s larger values.

18/06/2025

Megan Roca