Rastafari Council of Ghana Condemns Forcible Cutting of Student's Hair
ANTI COLONIALISM
RCG Calls for a Redefinition of Discipline in Ghana’s Education System
27 October 2025. ACCRA, Ghana - The Rastafari Council of Ghana expresses its deep concern and firm condemnation of the recent incident in which a student’s hair was forcibly cut under the pretext of instilling discipline and moulding character.
The Council reaffirms that discipline is an essential part of education but insists that it cannot and should not be associated with a student’s hairstyle, hair length, clothing, or shoes. Genuine discipline arises from self-awareness, empathy, and moral responsibility, not from conformity of appearance.
The continued enforcement of grooming uniformity in schools, the statement notes, reflects a colonial legacy - a holdover from systems that valued obedience over independent thought. Such practices run counter to the goals of national education, which should nurture creative, confident, and self-determining citizens.
Education, the Council emphasizes, must be a space of liberation rather than coercion. When students are punished for their natural hair or personal expression, they are not being guided - they are being diminished. The Council therefore calls on the Minister of Education, the Ghana Education Service, and all school authorities to take decisive steps toward reform.
Specifically, the Rastafari Council urges:
An immediate end to coercive grooming policies that violate students’ personal, cultural, and spiritual rights.
The development of inclusive disciplinary policies rooted in mutual respect and dialogue.
A national conversation involving educators, parents, cultural bodies, and civil society on redefining discipline in ways that reflect Africa and Ghana’s own values and human rights commitments.
This moment, the Council asserts, should serve as a turning point for rethinking how we shape our young people - not through forced sameness, but through integrity, compassion, and freedom of thought.
Issued by:
RASTAFARI COUNCIL OF GHANA