Moral crisis in higher institutions and the dress code phenomenon

Abstract: This article reviewed the case of indecent dressing among the youth of today especially on the universities campuses, which has forced the authorities of those institutions to enact dress codes to stem the tide and restore high moral standards, integrity and decency. Whether this bid was successful or not was another thing which was a function of many factors namely: (1) absence of procedural and legal structures for enforcement and sanctions; (2) weak moral backgrounds from home; (3) lip-service paid to the issue of dress code by the authorities; (4) negative influence of foreign cultures through the moral pollution of the mass media; and (5) the corrupt nature of the society iner-alia. In the view of the fact that this phenomenon portends serious danger to realizing the sincere goals of training reliable, decent-minded, well mannered workforce and leaders for the future, the study recommended that: (1) all hands be put on deck by all the stake holders within and outside campuses to stem the dangerous tide; (2) well designed structures be laid down for enforcing the rules and penalizing non-compliance; and (3) regular counselling programmes be mounted all over the campuses and in the communities utilizing agencies like the parents, the teachers, the religious bodies and the media most especially. Key words: educational institutions; moral crises; dress cod