New hair policy for schools could be out by January – Manickchand

The much-anticipated updated school’s hair policy could be introduced by January with the Education Ministry seeking to strike a balance between children’s neatness and diverse hair types, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said on Tuesday.

The Education Minister on Tuesday told the News Room that a consultant has provided a report consisting of changes that should be implemented after considering several conditions as it relates to hair and school.

This report comes following several rounds of consultations with parents, teachers and other stakeholders.

“There has been a report compiled by a consultant we hired… and so that is something we are currently looking at and I hope we can make the changes that are recommended for January. So, you’re going to hear from us very soon on that,” Manickchand said.

Further, she said it is definite that there will be a change to the rules and regulations that cover hair styles that are acceptable in classrooms.

“We are sure the changes will be made but I think it’s premature of me to tell you now what those changes are because the changes are going to be informed by what people said during the consultations; because you had to balance health and safety, neatness with the realities of different hair types and that’s what we will be doing. So we hope to get that out by the new school term,” she said.

Conversations about outdated hairstyle policies in the school system started in March 2022 after the Ministry issued a memo that announced a one-day relaxation of existing hairstyle rules in schools for teachers and students.

It was to observe International Women’s Day.

Soon after, a national debate permeated social media with persons calling for the abolition of the rules.

Among them was Tamika Henry-Fraser, the creator of the social movement Curl Fete. During a panel discussion hosted by the News Room, she contended that the policy or rules which require that students’ hair is kept neat and tidy do not consider Afro Guyanese children.

The Minister, who participated in the panel discussion, had agreed that the hairstyle rules in schools needed to be examined and possibly changed.

As such, she embarked on several conversations to examine and gather relevant information aimed at overhauling outdated-school rules which disproportionately affect learners based on gender and ethnicity.

The conversation also addressed the idea that the rules are outdated because hairstyles cannot determine whether a child learns in class.