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The Achimota High School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) explained why some students at the school are forced to wear long hair following debates over admitting two students with dreadlocks to school.
The two, who were admitted to the school, are not yet enrolled following the school’s insistence that they cut their dreadlocks according to school rules.
As a result, social media was inundated with photos suggesting school rules did not apply to Caucasian students.
But in an interview on TV3, the school’s PTA president Dr Andre Kwasi-Kumah explained that the exceptions were applied to exchange students, as well as those who had medical excuses.
“The headmistress tells me unequivocally that everyone is supposed to keep their hair short. The photo currently circulating is probably of the exchange students, and since they are not permanent students, they are allowed to keep their hair. I was also told that in the past some were allowed to keep their hair long, whether Caucasian or not, for medical reasons. Thus, exceptions were made for health reasons, ”he said.
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Dr Kwasi-Kumah further supported the school’s insistence that the two students cut their dreadlocks before being enrolled.
He added that allowing them to be enlisted on the basis of religion would open the floodgates so that “other people also come to ask for compromises for their religious beliefs”.
“We love the Achimota tradition, we love the way our children are raised with these rules. So we want these rules to be maintained. We don’t want any change. Appearances matter so I wouldn’t want my son or daughter exposed to indecent hairstyle and copy, ”he said.
“If you compromise for religious reasons, it is likely that other people will also come and ask for compromises for their religious beliefs. So you could bring in the traditionalist with dreadlocks with cowry shells or a nudist it goes to the extreme, come in or people coming up with funny hairstyles and say it’s their religion. So even though it’s their religious beliefs because we want to keep training on how our children are raised, we still won’t want to compromise on that, ”he added.
The PTA, in a statement released on Tuesday, also cited 14 (1) (e) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana which gives schools the right to set rules for the promotion of education.
Article 14 (1) (e) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides: “Everyone has the right to his personal liberty and no one shall be deprived of his personal liberty except in the following cases and in accordance with the procedure authorized by the law:
e) For the purposes of the education or welfare of a person who has not reached the age of eighteen ”.
“Therefore, we are alongside the principal and welcome to our fold, parents who are ready to abide by the rules and regulations of the Achimota school,” the statement said.
Below is the full statement of the Achimota PTA
The Achimota School PTA cadre wholeheartedly and unequivocally supports the school’s decision to enforce its rules regarding the admission of three dreadlocked students.
According to Revised School Rules and Regulations (August 2020), Section H (General Appearance), point 3 states that “students should keep their hair low, simple and natural. (Students’ hair should not undergo any chemical process). The scalp should not appear.
This age-old rule has avoided unnecessary attention and wasted time with “non-school” hairstyles. Any exception to this rule for religious reasons would open the floodgates to all types of hairstyles and generate indiscipline.
Furthermore, we believe that Article 14 (1) (e) of the Constitution of Ghana of 1992 states: “ Everyone has the right to his personal liberty and no one may be deprived of his personal liberty except in the following cases and in accordance with procedure authorized by law
(e) for the purposes of education or the welfare of a person who has not reached the age of eighteen years’ gives the school the right to set rules for the pursuit of the education.
We therefore stand alongside the principal and welcome parents who are ready to respect the rules and regulations of the Achimota school.
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