Tonight, school administrators across the country may wonder if a change in school policies for hair is on the horizon.
That's after a ministry of education release this morning expressed "sincere concern and dismay over reports of students being denied entry into their educational institutions over adherence to respective school hair policies."
It's a document that, depending on your perspective, is either a sign of the woke times or the crumbling of norms that once stood for discipline. Cherisse Halsall reports.
Hair, it's what's been in the news this week since a group of Boys in Orange Walk got the boot from their school compound on account of their too-long hair. It left them out on in te street instead of in the classroom and Belizeans have taken to social media to voice their outrage.
And this morning when the Ministry of Education weighed in on the subject they didn't seem to be on the side of the school.
In that release, they say, quote: "It is true that school authorities do have the right to impose codes of conduct and general rules and guidelines for the proper administration of their schools. Students cannot, however, be removed from or denied admission to school because of the length of their hair."
And go on to say.
"Students have been out of the classroom long enough. It is time for them to begin a new academic year which will be rich with positive learning and life experiences for them all."
And while this is the first time the ministry seems to be on the students side, this issue of hair in schools is a recurrent one.
We saw it a few months ago in Ladyville when Kevin Pollard, a rastafarian father, tried to get his son enrolled in school.
Kevin Pollard, Father
"They told me that because of his hair, they cannot accept him because that's a rule they have within their school that's been passed down."
"I went to the Ladyville SDA primary school and the principal said the same thing that because of their school policy that my son cannot enter their school, he would need to cut his hair, and then he will be welcomed. And I keep asking why, what is wrong with his hair, his hair is not what's gonna be learning, it's the child that's gonna be taking the education."
That father's frustration is shared by many tonight as they collectively ask if a child who has to occasionally sweep the hair out of their eyes is any less capable of absorbing their reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The Ministry's release ends by citing the constitution's principles of ensuring education and health on the basis of equality and guaranteeing rights to freedom of expression, conscience, and the right to be protected against discrimination.
