Teacher unions support MoE ban on hairstyles & long hair in SHSs

Two pre-tertiary teacher unions – the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) have endorsed the Ministry of Education (MoE) ban on hairstyle and long hair in second-cycle schools across the country.

Speaking in an interview monitored by Pretertiary.com, the General Secretary of GNAT, Mr Thomas Tanko Musah, said the directive is to enable the students to focus on their education while in school.

“The Ghana National Association of Teachers supports the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu 100%. We have gone past this stage,” he said in an interview with Keminni Amanor on TV3’s NewsCentral.

According to the National Association of Teachers member, “the educational institution is not a party centre, it is a learning institution, so whoever goes there to learn must be ready to play by the rules of the game.

Mr Musah Tanko further explained that “when we are teaching children, we teach them three things- we are teaching the mind, the heart and the hand. It is a holistic education we give the children.”

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) General Secretary noted that the essence of the directive by the Minister is to get the students to focus on the purpose of being in the school.

“There are things that obstruct the learning process. We want them to focus on why they are there,” Mr Thomas Tanko explained.

The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Angel Carbonu, on his part in support of the Education Ministry’s directive, has said the law is the law.

In a social media post, he cited the example that “I am a Catholic and a very passionate one at that. But there are certain values of the Church I disagree with, eg why a man with more than one wife is disqualified to partake in communion, and such a person cannot hold any position such as Headmaster and Headmistress of a School.

But so long as I want to be and belong to the Church, I have no choice than to conform until the rules change. Why do people find it difficult to understand this simple life principle. Until the law changes, the law is the law”

The teacher unions’ support comes after the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, issued a stern warning against the wearing of long hair and inappropriate dressing among students in the various second-cycle schools in the country.

Speaking at the 75th Anniversary celebration of Mawuli Senior High School in Ho, he urged the Ghana Education Service and school heads to take full control of how students behave on campus.

“There is an ongoing debate on social media about haircuts -size and length of hair in secondary schools; we will not tolerate it today, we will not tolerate it tomorrow, so long as we are moulding character,” he warned.

“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’re accordingly empowered to take full control of how students behave,” the Minister for Education emphasised.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu also reiterated the government’s stance against teachers who engage in sexual misconduct with students, noting that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to offenders.

“There is a lot of growing indiscipline in our schools, some with even teachers abusing learners; we will not accept that. We will apply heavy sanctions to any teacher who wants to take advantage of a learner.”