The Parents Teacher Association (PTA) of Achimota School has backed authorities of the school over their refusal to admit three students with dreadlocks hairstyle.
School authorities have defied an order from the Ghana Education Service (GES) asking them to admit the three students, saying it is against the rules of the school.
The parents of the three students have since served notice they will be seeking legal redress to get their children admitted.
“It is a class action lawsuit involving other parents on the basis of discrimination on faith and culture,” Ras Aswad Nkrabeah, one of the parents told Accra-based Asaase Radio on Tuesday.
He added: “When I went to a meeting yesterday (Monday), the headmistress gave herself away by saying it wasn’t two, …I didn’t know it was three students. So now I am realising that it is something they do and they do it with pleasure.
“When I went to the office you know what the assistant principal told me, he said last year we turned away a few of them and they took us to court and we won. So if you want to take it to court, go ahead and do that, and he said this is not the first and won’t be the last, this is what he told me.”
However, in a statement, the school’s PTA said it “unreservedly and unequivocally supports the school’s decision to enforce its rules with respect to the admission of three students with dreadlocks hairstyle.”
“According to the school’s revised rules and regulations (August 2020), section H (General Appearance), item 3 states: “Students must keep their hair low, simple and natural. (Students’ hair should not go through any chemical process). The scalp must not show,” it added.
Below is the full statement from the PTA:
Background
The GES over the weekend instructed authorities of the Achimota School to admit two first-year students who reported on campus with dreadlocks.
It follows massive debate on social media after reports that the school had refused to admit the children although they gained admission.
Reports suggest the school authorities had claimed it is against the rules of the school for students to have dreadlocks.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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