A letter to Angel Kabonu and NAGRAT

Dear Angel Kabonu and NAGRAT,

I am very disappointed in your outburst on the issue involving a Rastafarian kid who was refused admission because of dreadlocks. I learnt your reason is that, schools need to have rules that will bring law and order. It is very sad that a professional group like NAGRAT in this day and age thinks the way children choose to keep their hair will determine how discipline or otherwise they will be in school.

The matter under discussion has to do with a child's right to education and their freedom of religion These rights and freedoms cannot be denied by anyone. To suggest that allowing kids with dreadlocks or any hairstyle to be in our schools will lead to breakdown of discipline is laughable and pathetic. It clearly shows that our teachers are not reformers but see themselves as lords over the learners. In most of not all our private schools where children are allowed to keep their hair and style them in the manner in which they want to, has that led to a breakdown in discipline? Are private schools not producing the best results in the country compared to public schools?

Our schools should be leading in common sense, innovation, creativity and critical thinking in this day and age. Several advanced countries allow their kids to be who they are when coming to school. It's part of building confidence. The rules (if any) that makes kids keep their hair short is colonial, and makes no sense. There are several research that shows that a large percentage of teachers in our schools are involved in sexual relationships with their students and are among the leading cause of teenage pregnancies in our schools but these students cut their hair short. What arouses the interest of teachers in these girls? Their short hair? What has NAGRAT done to nip this in the bud?

A number of schools are forcing children of other religions to attend church services, why is NAGRAT not stopping it too? Is it only Christianity that can shape a child's character? I attended a Catholic school and for the four years that I was there, I had to avail myself for church services in the morning and in the evening and on Sundays, whether I liked it or not. The right to worship for Muslims was only guaranteed in the school towards the end of my first year. So when we entered the school, Muslims were not allowed to practice their religion. We understood that was the practice when the school was wholly owned by the Catholic Church but as government has taken over the school, the PTA together with the management of the school allowed us to start worshiping separately as Muslims.

The fact that we were guaranteed the right to worship as Muslims and the fact that we can be identified as Muslims never stopped the school from asking us to participate in Christian worship. This is not a sign of religious tolerance. There is no single Islamic public school that imposes the Hijab or Friday prayers on everyone. Religious tolerance is accepting people with different faith in your space but not forcing them to practice your religion. If a school is a private school, and I go there, I'm obliged to ascribe to all rules and regulations but for a school to be owned by the government and there is an agenda to force religious practice in there is most unacceptable. I have no regret for attending my school as I count it as part of my life experiences but on hindsight, I may reconsider my decision. Not long ago, a Muslim kid died in Adisadel College after jumping from the top floor of a storey building in his bid to escape punishment for missing church services. What has NAGRAT done to ensure a lasting solution?

As teachers, you should be the first to know that Rastafarianism is actually African. It is who we are as black people and if for nothing at all we should be projecting who we are with pride. The fact that one of the kids even with his locks had aggregate 6, is not a matter of interest to you but rather how he looks? If you care to know, Rastafarians are among the most peaceful, calm and respectful people out there. They are some of the most discipline group of people in the world and it is just unfair that we are openly discriminating against them. What mindset do you think the child with grow with? That this is not an equal opportunity society and that meritocracy doesn't exist? The child merits Achimota that is why he worked hard to meet the entry requirements. When he was filling his placement form, nobody told him that hairstyle is one of the requirements to enter Achimota, I'm sure if anyone did, he would've considered other options.

Nobody is saying the floodgates should be opened for anyone to bring in any hairstyle at all. And even if the floodgates are opened, how will that affect learning? In Accra Academy where a Rastafarian was offered admission, has anyone died?

I am also a teacher in a private set up. I have been teaching in private schools for several years. My teenage learners come to school with all sorts of hairstyles. One kid had a blue Nike cap he usually wore on Wednesdays and Fridays to match the school lacust shirt. It has never been a problem for me or the school administration. Our job as teachers is to produce confident kids who are proud of who they are and what they believe in. Our job is not to produce timid kids who can't think outside the box because they have to always obey some rules most of which don't make any sense. In any case, what GES rules prescribe the cutting of hair short? Where is the rule written? I ask because in 2015, a Director General of GES clearly said that there is no such GES rule asking children to keep their hair short. He said in an interview with Bernard Avle on the Citi Breakfast Show that it was just a norm. The story is available here: https://citifmonline.com/2015/04/keeping-short-hair-in-shs-is-just-a-norm-not-a-rule-fomer-ges-boss/

Head of History Department at the University of Cape Coast where most of you teachers get your training from is Professor De-Valera Botchway. He has locks on his head. He has ascended high to the level of a Head of Department in no other place than the UCC. Will any of our teachers under training refuse to sit in his class because he has locks? Could one of these kids rise as high as Professor Botchway? Answer is absolutely yes because they say, the testes that will develop a hernia is known at birth. If one of them can make aggregate six now, the future can only be bright.

Muslim ladies have been on this same issue from time immemorial concerning their rights to wear Hijab. If public schools allow church services, Christian prayers during public gatherings and dinning, then they should equally accept the religious rights of other people. It's either we put a total ban on all religious practices in our schools or we accept everyone. It's that simple. Ghana is a secular state with rules that accept and respect the child's right to education and freedom of religion.