Students compliant with grooming policies so far – JTA boss
Published:Thursday | September 7, 2023 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE JAMAICA Teachers’ Association [JTA] is reporting that it has received no negative feedback from schools to date on the issue of students’ dress and grooming, including the perennial matter of restricted hairstyles, since the start of the 2023-2024 academic year on Monday.
Leighton Johnson, the president of the JTA, made the disclosure in a media interview on Tuesday, where he gave assurance that school administrators do not seek to restrict students from accessing their education on unfair grounds.
“To this point, what we have seen is compliance. We have seen a great level of compliance by our students, and that is at the primary level. Many of the secondary schools are opening their doors today into the rest of the week, so we will continue to monitor that aspect,” said Johnson.
“I want to indicate that year after year we hear this discussion, and I must indicate that the majority of the students within our schools conform to the rules and regulations and the grooming codes. I don’t believe there is any school administrator or any school that is engaging in practices that can be considered unjust, unfair or discriminatory,” Johnson added.
“Once the process in the policy framework is thoroughly and carefully followed, where there is the matter of consultation, a consultative process in the development of the rules where persons go away with a consensus and an agreement from the school level, then I believe this is sending a clear message to our nation that the democratic process of our society is still alive.”
The JTA boss’ declaration follows a previous promise from Education Minister Fayval Williams during the JTA’s 59th annual conference last month that a draft of Jamaica’s long-awaited grooming policy for schools would be available in time for the start of the September school term.
At that time, Williams said that the policy will specifically seek to abolish discrimination against students who wear their hair in specific styles in keeping with religious beliefs, including Rastafarians who wear their hair in dreadlocks.
The policy’s objective is to reduce discriminatory practices in schools that are based on students’ hairstyles and grooming habits, while addressing the need for school-based discipline and the development of wider-reaching societal values.
It is expected to consider cultural identity, climatic conditions, socio-economic circumstances of parents, and the aims and objectives of the educational institutions the students attend.
Supreme Court case
The issue gained national attention in August 2018 when human rights group Jamaicans for Justice filed a motion in the Supreme Court on behalf of Dale and Sherine Virgo after their daughter, who was five years old at the time, was barred from attending classes at the Kensington Primary School in Portmore, St Catherine, due to wearing a dreadlocked hairstyle.
The Supreme Court subsequently ruled in 2020 that the child’s constitutional rights were not breached when the school denied access to her because of her dreadlocks, despite the parents’ insistence that the hairstyle was part of the family’s identity.
In the meantime, Johnson urged students and parents who may have issues with their school’s policies to use the approved official channels to air their grievances so that mutually beneficial solutions can be reached without escalating the conflict between the parties.
“We as educational administrators do not pride ourselves in engaging in anything that is going to unfairly prevent a student from accessing education, as that is not what school administrators do. However, you will find situations where the minority, or an aggrieved parent or student, decides that he or she will not adhere to the policies and goes about challenging the process in the wrong way, by seeking the attention of the media in many instances, which blows the matter out of proportion,” said Johnson.
“There is a process for any student or any parent to seek redress within the schools. Schools have student council representatives on their boards, and there is the Parent-Teacher Association on the board,” Johnson added. “Therefore, if there is a challenge, we encourage our parents and our students to use the correct channel to address their issues.”