Don’t bar students from classes because of hair or grooming, Williams tells school administrators

Minister of Education Fayval Williams is again urging school administrators not to bar students from attending classes based on their hairstyles or grooming.

Williams made the appeal while addressing today's third and final day of the Jamaica Teachers' Association's (JTA) 60th annual conference in Trelawny.

While acknowledging that the recurring issue of students' grooming will come up for fresh consideration when the new school year begins on September 2, Williams said that principals must seek to hold dialogue on the issue with students and their parents.

“The issue of locs in schools, of wearing your natural hair, all of those are going to confront us come September 2. We are still insisting that no child should be locked out of school because of issues with dress and grooming,” Williams told today's assembly.

“There ought to be a process in place within our schools for consultation, for talks with the students and their parents. We know that these are difficult situations in our schools, but I have every faith and confidence that, together, we can tackle those and have a successful school year,” Williams added.

The matter of students' hairstyles and grooming has been a perpetual concern for school administrators in recent years, resulting in the Ministry of Education drafting a grooming policy for schools prior to the September 2023 school term.

That policy came about following a series of consultations in August 2022 on the issue of student dress and grooming in schools.

The consultations were held with the aim of developing a policy for educational institutions to balance students' rights while complying with school rules.

- Christopher Thomas

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