Edith Dalton students barred from classes for inappropriate grooming
SEVERAL students at Edith Dalton James High School in St Andrew were reportedly prohibited from entering the institution’s compound on Wednesday for wearing incorrect uniforms and inappropriate hairstyles.
Videos obtained by the Jamaica Observer showed students lingering outside the school gate, some of who voiced their concerns about being barred from classes.
One male student complained that it was the sixth-consecutive day that he was being barred from school due to breaches of the uniform and grooming policies.
“Mi come school six days now and they don’t want to let me in, saying that mi pants too tight and mi hair too tall,” he said.
Meanwhile, a female student complained that she was not allowed on the compound because she was wearing slippers. She said she had no choice but to wear the slippers as her school shoes was damaged.
Another student noted that she was not allowed to enter the school after being unavoidably late.
“I came to school late because traffic was on the road and I live very far. I had to stand in the sun when I got here until 10:30 and I got to school from about 9:00 am. The security seem as if she wanted to disrespect me too…” the student said.
A man from a nearby community noted that he became concerned about the number of students that have not been able to access classes since the start of the Easter term.
“The situation has been from school start in January. I have noticed that several students have been on the outside and when I investigated they are saying that they are locked out for various reasons. The height of their hair, the tightness of their pants and all of that,” he said.
“I think there is a policy that the Ministry of Education has to let it be known that student should not be locked out of school. It is a concern I have, and I have been living here for 17 years and I have never seen anything like this. This has been getting worse,” he added.
Following a post-cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House last year, Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams declared that she has told principals repeatedly not to prevent children from entering schools when they fail to wear the correct uniforms.
“Schools are not allowed to lock out students regardless of whether it is uniform or something else. There are too many risks associated with that. Once a student steps on the school compound we act in the place of parents and I have consistently said that there should not be any locking out whatsoever of our students,” the education minister had said.
Up to press time calls made to the school about the grooming matter went unanswered.