The decision, as outlined in the Ministry of Education’s new National Grooming Policy, to allow students to wear dreadlocks and cornrow hairstyles uncovered at school was extremely long in coming.Barbados is a country populated by people of African descent. The frowning on and opposing our God-given hair in the most natural state is something that should have been dealt with firmly long ago.We speak eloquently about a new national consciousness. The man who we will celebrate next week, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow asked us to reflect on what mirror image we have of ourselves. Our current Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley wears her natural hair with pride. Next month, in schools, we will tell students about the importance of African Awareness Month and embracing our heritage.Yet, only in 2023 have we decided to “allow” and “accept” natural hair.The road that has led us here has been long, challenging and winding and it needed not to be.
It was smooth sailing at the Reynold Weekes Primary School when the second term for this academic year got under way on Tuesday. That was the assessment of Principal Anderson Bishop as children settled into class at the St Philip institution. He said that despite a few small maintenance issues, the school was largely ready for another term which promises to be busy for students and teachers alike. “Repairs were …
A social activist is calling on Barbadians to stipulate that the Ministry of Education Technology and Vocational Training (METVT) remove gender neutrality as one of its core values in the National Grooming Policy. In a release to the media, Dave Weekes, who is also a filmmaker and part of the management of Praise Academy, says the inclusion, with no input from the public on “our children”, is another sign of …
When children return to the classroom on Tuesday, it will be under a new National Grooming Policy, an updated dress code for nursery, primary and secondary Government-operated schools. Minister of Education Kay McConney says it was long overdue and updates the previous Code of Discipline and Dress Code which is almost 30 years old. The full policy can be viewed at the Ministry’s website mes.gov.bb or its social media pages. …
Public primary and secondary schools will be fully reopened in Barbados on Tuesday without any Government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions. And Minister of Education Kay McConney says this will also signal a return to both social and physical activities during and after school. For the past three years, schools in Barbados operated under COVID-19 protocols which imposed distance among and between students and teachers, the wearing of masks was mandatory and sanitising …