SHS hair policy is about hygiene & safety, not discipline – Ex-MoE
The policy on hair length in second-cycle schools is about hygiene and safety and not about discipline, former Minister for Education and Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe constituency, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has said.
Dr Adutwum’s comment follows a directive by the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, for the Ghana Education Service (GES) to ban hairstyles and long hair in Senior High Schools across the country.
Speaking at the 75th Anniversary celebrations of Mawuli School, he said the Ghana Education Service (GES) and heads of second-cycle institutions to take full control of student behaviour in schools.
“There is an ongoing debate on social media about haircuts and size, and the lengths of hair in Secondary Schools. We’ll not tolerate it today, we’ll not tolerate it tomorrow, in so long as we are moulding character. If we give in to hair today, tomorrow it will be shoes, and the next day it will be the way they dress.
Therefore as part of our disciplinary measures, Headmasters and GES, you are accordingly empowered to take full control of how students behave on your campuses. So anybody who thinks that your child will walk into any institution of learning, as if that Child was to attend a beauty contest, the school environment is not for that purpose and not cut for that purpose, and will not tolerate that as an institution,” he said.
But, in an interview monitored by Pretertiary.com, the Education Minister said the motive behind the directive for students to cut their hair must be rational and considerate of students’ well-being.
“We sometimes think we are the adults and they are the children, so we force certain decisions on them without proper engagement,” he stated, adding that “We see it as discipline, but in reality, the hair issue is about hygiene and safety.”
Citing the Accra High Court’s decision in the case of Achimota School and Tyrone Marhguy, he noted that the court’s position reflected the importance of fairness and understanding in school policies.
According to the immediate past Education Minister, the rule on haircuts was historically introduced to help maintain cleanliness and ensure students devoted time to their studies, not as a form of punishment.
“When schools make rules that students must cut their hair, it’s not about discipline. It’s because not everyone has the luxury to keep their hair neat all the time,” Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum stated.
Citing schools abroad where students are allowed to keep long hair but must follow safety measures he said “In my schools abroad, people come with long hair, but we have put measures in place to avoid injury during P.E. So we tell parents to either cut the length of the hair or tie it in a ponytail, and they always understand,” he shared.
The former Minister for Education urged Ghanaian schools to adopt a similar approach that emphasizes communication and understanding between teachers, parents, and students.
“We can make the children understand the issues because keeping long or short hair is not about discipline but hygiene and safety,” the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful stated.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum also advised that exceptions be made for students whose parents cite religious or cultural reasons for not cutting their hair.
“If parents give valid reasons, their child’s hair cannot be cut; any court will rule in their favour. So schools must handle these cases with flexibility,” he explained.
The Bosomtwe Member of Parliament speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem concluded that the focus should be on rational policy grounded in health and safety rather than enforcing uniform behavior for its own sake.
“We must let the children understand it’s for their own good, not just a disciplinary measure,” Dr. Adutwum added.
