Some two years after the Ministry of Education and Youth put forward a draft students’ grooming and dress policy for review, consultations with the relevant stakeholders are still dragging on with no definite timeframe for its implementation.

Acting senior education officer for the Ministry of Education and Youth Region 2, Lerbert Drysdale, told Our Today that discussions are still being carried out with school administrators, students and parents, many of whom have raised issues with aspects of the proposals.

“We still have not finalised it, and the reason for that is there are a number of stakeholders we have to engage with. We have engaged with principals, and we have had sessions with parents but I still think we need to talk more about it because there is a lot of controversy,”

LERBERT DRYSDALE, ACTING SENIOR EDUCATION OFFICER

The development of the policy became necessary after several clashes between school administrators and parents over hairstyles and attire worn by students, resulting in some being barred from entering schoolgrounds or sitting examinations.

“We have some persons based on their religious practices their hairstyles may not be accepted by everyone, so we need to have policies in place to cover these persons who might appear a little different from the general population,” the education officer said.

He noted that there is still no timeline for the policy’s enforcement due to the ongoing consultations.

However, the president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, Linvern Wright told Our Today last week that only one consultation was had with school administrators since the draft policy was put forward.

“Last year this time, there was one and that was when they had postponed the implementation but I don’t recall any being done throughout the year,” he said.

President of the National Secondary Students’ Council (NSSC), Dannyelle Jordan Bailey, said that there has been no direct consultation with the NSSC on the grooming policy.

“There weren’t necessarily any direct consultations on the policy but we did have a meeting that was held at Wolmer’s, an open panel discussion with members of the Ministry of Education and Youth which included the Minister of Education, where students were able to bring up their concerns to the grooming policy but the consultation was not specific to the grooming policy but considering that is something students care about a lot it was brought,” she said.

The NSSC president noted that her team is ready to have consultations with the education ministry and school administrators to share the concerns of students.

“Students have shared their concerns that the student grooming policy is not inclusive to the socio-economic standing of all students across Jamaica. The grooming policy doesn’t take into consideration the fact that students have a right to express their creativity in a respectful and appropriate manner. A lot of times there is a misconception about how students want to express that creativity. Administrators tend to think that we want to go to school in 20-inch hair and long nails when that’s not necessarily the case. We just want some room to be able to show ourselves in addition the grooming policy or the school uniform don’t take in consideration the climate of Jamaica,”

DANNEYELLE JORDAN BAILEY, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL SECONDARY STUDENTS’ COUNCIL

She noted that it is now time to ensure that students agree with the policy to aid in its implementation.

“It is something we try to push for every year. The talk has been going on for years now. In an ideal world, yes, it’s time to ensure that students agree with it and then implement it. We have seen time and time and time again where individual schools have implemented their grooming policy and the students are very dissatisfied with what it says, so its time that when the one that is released on the national level is brought out the majority of the students agree,” Bailey said.

Wright is urging for more clarity on the impending grooming policy so that it does not disrupt the ethos of institutions while not infringing on the cultural rights of students.

The Student Dress and Grooming Policy is intended to provide a framework for all public education institutions to develop their own student dress and grooming policy to fit their local situation while still promoting good societal values without violating individual rights and laws.

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