School is not a runway, but students’ rights matter, says children’s rights group

Children’s rights group, Fi We Children Foundation, says the long-awaited national student dress and grooming policy must protect students’ rights while providing schools with clear and reasonable standards.

The foundation’s legal consultant, Kayla Wright, says concerns about student grooming cannot simply be brushed aside with the argument that “school is not a runway”.

“For black boys and girls, hair can be an important part of our identity, culture and self-expression,” Wright said.

“Grooming standards should not force students to conform to Eurocentric ideas of appearance, or undermine their dignity.”

Her comments come as Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon prepares to roll out the revised National Student Dress and Grooming Policy ahead of the new school term.

READ: Students must follow the rules

Morris Dixon, speaking at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s 62nd annual conference at Ocean Coral Spring in Trelawny, urged parents and students to follow the rules established by schools.

“The national student dress and grooming policy is very important. I note, and I have said this before, that school is not a runway, because you go to school to learn,” she said.

“If you have a rule around uniform, that’s the rule; and if the rule is that your hair is low cut, your hair is to be low cut.”

The minister said the new policy will require schools to have written grooming standards and ensure that parents are aware of them.

She said schools would also be expected to clearly outline sanctions for breaches and apply those rules consistently.

But the advocacy group says consistency alone cannot justify a rule that is unreasonable or discriminatory.

“Students should follow reasonable school rules. But ‘rules are rules’ cannot justify requirements that are arbitrary, discriminatory or disproportionate,” Wright said.

She argued that students should not be removed from school or prevented from participating in important milestones such as graduation because of subjective grooming requirements.

The issue of student hair and grooming has repeatedly sparked controversy in Jamaica, particularly where parents and students believe school rules unfairly target certain hairstyles or expressions of cultural identity.

Dreadlocks, for example, have long been a flashpoint, with some schools objecting to the hairstyle despite students and parents citing Rastafarian beliefs and cultural identity.

The foundation said the revised policy therefore presents an opportunity to bring greater clarity and fairness to an issue that has generated years of debate.

“As we await the revised national student dress and grooming policy, the Fi We Children Foundation urges that students’ rights to education, dignity, expression and cultural identity remain central,” Wright said.

The foundation is a child-rights organisation focused on promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of children in Jamaica.

Its mandate includes advocating for policies and practices that uphold children’s rights, dignity and access to education and justice.

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