School boards to decide specific uniform rules, says education minister

Education Minister Fayval Williams says school boards, and not her ministry, will have the final say on the specific rules on the length and size of students' uniforms.

"We will continue to stand on the side of discipline," Williams insisted at post-Cabinet press briefing Wednesday morning.

She explained that her ministry sets general policy but schools boards are allowed to decide on the specific details. 

The rules, she said, should be written; arrived at through consultation with parents and students; should not be discriminatory, and applied fairly. 

The ministry is currently engaged in consultations to finalise a dress and grooming policy for public schools. 

And Minister Williams has repeated her position that students should not be locked out of school for any violation of rules. 

"Once a student steps on the compound, we act in the place of parents. And I have consistently said that there should not be any locking out, whatsoever," she said.

Controversy over rules regulating the length of girls' uniforms and the size of boys' pants has dominated the three weeks into the start of the new school year. 

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