One interpretation saw five students being barred from classes at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) last week for wearing locks. But, deputy principal Merton Forde said the students would be allowed back in school if they presented documents proving they were part of the Rastafari faith.
“Generally the laws speak to people carrying themselves in a manner which is not injurious to the health of others, or injurious to themselves. And what had me aghast, is that what seems to be appearing is a conflict of what one might argue is traditional culture and modern culture, even though the modern culture is part of the ancestral culture of Africa in this context,” Jones said.
MINISTER OF EDUCATION Ronald Jones is hinting that the new Education Act will take into consideration the now controversial issue of appropriate hairstyles for school, which is currently left to the interpretation of administrators. He said the new act and new regulations would be presented to Parliament as soon as the necessary review of the current act and accompanying regulations had been completed.
Source: Nation Newspaper
Above is the picture of the controversial Senator Damien Griffith who was appointed to the Upper House by the David Thompson government recently. His appointment has sparked debate not only because of his relative tender age but more so his corn row plaited hairstyle. The national debate appears to be divided on the issue. One group feels it is not a good portrayal of the kind of image we want to send to young people because it flouts standards which conservative Barbadians remain true. Then there is the other group which counters that the ‘hair style’ allows the Senator to remain connected to his African heritage.
The man who triggered the debate is the well known educator and disciplinarian Mathew Farley who wrote this article which was published in the Nation on the 14/02/08. The quote above signals that the government maybe tightening the dress code in our government institutions of learning very soon. Is it a case of bolting the door long after the horses have fled? The plurality of cultures which currently exist in Barbados seem to be blurring what is culture and ‘fad’. Perhaps if the Senator wants to wear his ‘hair style’ in a style made popular by females under the excuse that it is African, we would find it an acceptable argument if he looked like Elombe Mottley. There isn’t a Barbadian who stumbles on Elombe who would be in any doubt as to his ‘Africaness’. The Senator and his sympathizers argue that the style keeps him in touch with his roots yet he wears the garb which has a rich European identity, the suit and tie. No half measure Senator!
Although we have not been totally lucid in our condemnation of a Senator being allowed to enter our law making chambers, we have no doubt that the BU family understands where we side on the matter. Mathew Farley you have a lot of support in the wings!
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