Graham’s Hall student sent home for wearing Indigenous outfit

– Minister, school later apologise

In the height of Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations across the country, a student of Graham’s Hall Primary School was on Friday sent home for her cultural wear – which prompted immediate intervention to correct this blunder.
The mother of the child took to social media, explaining that her child was asked to wear an Indigenous outfit to school. After spending some $8000 for an outfit and getting her daughter ready, the student was turned away and was reportedly told that she could not “go in the school like that”.

However, the matter was swiftly rectified when Education Minister Priya Manickchand subsequently responded that the school was contacted. Later, she posted, “This child is in her classroom. The school apologises.”
While it is not the first time that a child wearing an Indigenous outfit was sent home, persons raised concerns over the acceptance of the Amerindian culture, particularly in relation to their traditional clothing.
Back in 2018, a public outcry ignited after Mae’s Schools deemed an Indigenous student’s cultural outfit inappropriate, which saw the National Toshaos Council (NTC) joining forces with the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) and Red Thread in criticising the actions taken by the administration of the private institution.
The mother of the child shared that her son was brought to tears and then expressed loathing for the costume which he once admired after he was turned back at the gate – a move which the school said was taken after they deemed his outfit “inappropriate”.
This resistance led to an apology being issued to the nine-year-old boy, who was affected by the school’s stance.
Amerindian Heritage Month is being celebrated under the theme “Celebrating Our Traditional Culture While Building One Guyana”.
Only a few weeks ago, a child attending a school on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) was sent home for wearing a Raksha Bandhan on his wrist. This was not taken lightly by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha (GHDS). The Education Minister was quick to respond and offer an apology while noting that children should be able to observe tradition without being victimised.
Further, only recently, a child was sent home for an inappropriate hairstyle – something that had caused a public outrage. Again, the Minister intervened, apologised and related that no child should be sent home for a preferred hairstyle.