Racist Double Standards Of NAGRAT, ACHIMOTA, GES Exposed -Prefer European Hair To African Hair

Investigations have revealed that the prestigious Achimota Secondary School is propagating a racist school regulation that allows it to bar African students from keeping long hairs, but allow students of European, Asian and Indian extract to keep their long hairs

This revelation is contrary to the impression created by the school recently when it stopped the enrolment of two Ghanaian teenagers from enrolling in the school because they had dreadlocks, coming from the Rastafarian faith.

The headmistress of the school, Ms. Joyce Rhodaline Addo had last week faced off with the parents of two brilliant Rastafarian students who had been admitted to the school via the automatic computer placement system for Senior High Schools (SHS), but Achimota had turned them away on the basis that their dreadlocked hairs breached school regulations against long hair.

In the ensuing clash between the parents of the students and Ms. Rhodaline Addo, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has stepped in, with its Director-General ordered Achimota to enroll the embattled students.

 “We have asked her [headmistress] to admit the students. The student is a Rastafarian and if there is evidence to show that he is Rastafarian, all that he needs to do is to tie the hair neatly,” the GES boss, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, told the Daily Graphic.

“…You cannot say that you will not admit someone on the basis of the person’s religious beliefs and so, we have asked the head to allow the children to be in the school,” the Director-General stated.

However, a few days after that order to Achimota to which the headmistress refused to heed, the GES quickly rescinded its order, saying Achimota had the right to deny the dreadlocked Ghanaians entry into the public school, despite their meeting all academic requirements.

The GES had been pressured by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and some alumni groups of the school to back out. 

“We are calling on the Ghana Education Service to redirect the Headmistress and the staff of Achimota Senior High School (SHS) to ensure that the rules and regulations of Achimota SHS and indeed any other Senior High School is abided by every student,” said Angel Carbonu in a press conference to speak on the issue.

But Whatsup News has been digging

profiles of students of the school with European and Asian backgrounds who have

been allowed to keep both long flowing hairs and even dreadlocks.

A quick scan through the Instagram page of Achimota School reveals several long-haired and a couple of dreadlocked Caucasoid students who have had no issues whatsoever gaining admission into the institution.

Ghanaian social media is also awash with proof of Achimota’s discriminatory double standards against African hair.

Meanwhile, in 2015, Angel Carbonu in a statement rather smacking of mental colonisation, has told Accra-based CITI FM that the rules for students to cut their hairs short in SHS’ do not apply to Caucasian-type students because “ they’ll look ugly” if they are made to trim their hair.

“What I gathered was that when Caucasian students cut their hair to the level of the blacks or natives, it makes them look very ugly and it can even affect their looks so Caucasian students are not allowed to cut their hair. There is no rule in the Ghana Education Service concerning Caucasians in Ghana because we are not Caucasians in Ghana, we are negroid.” 

It is the same Angel Carbon who is aggressively campaigning against the enrolment of the Ghanaian students into Achimota.

The stance of Achimota, NAGRAT and the GES is reminiscent of colonial-era racist rules that criminalised African hair and got the support of some “sell out” Africans who enforced those dehumanising racist laws.

Angry Ghanaians have descended heavily on what they call neo-colonial subjugation being perpetrated by the GES, NAGRAT and Achimota.