No tolerance for long hair in Senior High Schools – Minister of Education declares

Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has declared that students in Ghana’s Senior High Schools will no longer be permitted to keep long or unkempt hairstyles, stressing that discipline and proper grooming remain essential to education.

Addressing the 75th Anniversary celebration of Mawuli Senior High School, Mr Iddrisu cautioned that the Ghana Education Service (GES) would not tolerate what he described as “creeping acts of indiscipline” in schools.

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He stated that allowing students to freely grow or style their hair without regulation would set a dangerous precedent and weaken authority within the school system.

“There is an ongoing debate on social media about haircuts, hairstyles, and hair lengths in secondary schools. We will not tolerate it today. We will not tolerate it tomorrow. So long as we are moulding character, if we give in to hair today, tomorrow it will be shoes, and the next day, it will be how they dress,” he said.

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The Minister urged heads of schools to exercise full control and maintain standards that reflect discipline and respect. “As part of our disciplinary measures, headmasters and the GES are accordingly empowered to take full control of how students behave on your campuses. Anybody who thinks their child can walk into a school as if attending a beauty contest is mistaken,” he added.

Mr Iddrisu also used the occasion to issue a stern warning to teachers who engage in misconduct or abuse their positions of authority.

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He expressed concern over reports of unprofessional behaviour among some tutors, including cases of teachers mistreating or exploiting students.

“There is a lot of growing indiscipline in our schools. Some, even with teachers abusing learners — we will not accept that. We will apply heavy sanctions to any teacher who seeks to take advantage of a learner,” the Minister warned.

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The Education Minister reiterated that both students and teachers must uphold the highest standards of conduct, insisting that discipline is “the foundation of character formation and national progress.”