“No student should be sent home over hairstyle” – Manickchand reinforces

In a recent social media post, a parent has claimed that her child had been sent home because the school’s hairstyle guidelines had been breached. However, Education Minister Priya Manickchand is reminding that while schools have rules, no student should be sent home over their hairstyle.

Highlighting the Education Ministry’s position on the matter, Minister Manickchand, in a written response to Guyana Times on Wednesday, said: “The Ministry reiterates that children should not be sent home and/or denied an education because of any perceived or actual hairstyle breach of rule.”
Urging parents to respect outlined dress codes and hairstyle regulations established by the schools their children attend, the minister nevertheless noted that those rules are most times established through consultations with stakeholders, including parents and teachers.
“At the same time, we ask parents to be conscious that each school has rules that came about through consultation with the stakeholders of the respective schools, such as parents, teachers, students and Board; and that it is (in) the best interest of children that we follow the rules. those rules would be guided by wider guidelines offered by the Ministry.”
Two years ago, following intensified discussions on outdated hair rules in schools, the Education Ministry issued a memorandum stating that learners must not be sent home over perceived hairstyle breaches.
Headteachers were reminded that their main priority is to ensure all learners are in school and are being taught.
The memorandum also warned that if a learner is deemed to have an inappropriate hairstyle, the school must invite his or her parent or guardian for a discussion regarding the perceived infraction.
Minister Manickchand had made it clear in September 2023 that any person who sends a child home from school because of that child’s hairstyle would face disciplinary action.
A mother had taken to social media on Tuesday to express dissatisfaction at her daughter being sent home because of her hairstyle. She claimed that her daughter, a Grade 8 learner at Yarrowkabra Secondary School, was removed from her class because of her hairstyle.
According to this mother, the teacher said her daughter’s hairstyle was “distracting the boys”, and subsequently demanded that her father take her home.
When the teacher was confronted, this mother claimed, she was told if the girl’s parents “weren’t okay with the school rules, they should homeschool their daughter.”