Student prohibited from participating in Culture Day

…school reportedly says traditional indigenous wear “inappropriate”

As students from all across Guyana decked out in their cultural wear to participate in the Independence celebrations, a student from Mae’s School was prohibited from entering the school’s compound after his indigenous wear was considered “inappropriate”.

Fuming with anger that her child was unable to showcase his unique outfit after much hard work of putting it together, the child’s mother took to social media to express her disgust at the incident.
The parent explained that the school had issued a letter to all parents encouraging that their children wear an ethnic outfit to depict one of Guyana’s six races.
“I decided to dress him like an Amerindian, and he was so happy when he left the house, as he was taught mostly by his father to be proud of his appearance and culture,” the child’s mother said on Facebook.
She stated that upon entering the gates of the school on Friday morning, her son was confronted by the security guard, who barred him from entering and insisted that he wear a t-shirt because he was “inappropriately dressed”.
The disturbed mother related that the child was reduced to tears, and then expressed loathing for the costume, which he once admired. She explained that if the school was skeptical about the type of costume, then a guideline should’ve been disseminated to provide information on what is acceptable.
She added that the guard’s position was supported by some of the teachers.
“All this is unfolding in front of him, which of course brought him to tears, and later on went on (he went on) to say he hated the way he looks. So it’s okay to dress like the other races, but inappropriate to dress like Amerindian?”
The woman’s post went viral, with hundreds of persons lashing out at the school for its position.
One popular Amerindian rights activist called for the complete banning of cultural day in schools if persons are not allowed to wear indigenous outfits to depict Guyana’s diversity.
“It is discriminatory to subject a student to non-acceptance, non-recognition, and admittedly made to feel humiliated for wearing his traditional wear,” a former Amerindian Affairs Minister posted.
In several posts, the mother was urged to file a formal complaint at the Education National Toshaos Council.
When this newspaper reached out to the school for a comment on the matter, this publication was told that no senior staff was available to speak with the media.