Afro-Anguillan students will no longer be penalised by their schools for wearing natural protective hairstyles like dreadlocks, braids and cornrows as the Ministry of Education has updated the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School National Code of Discipline and Dress.
Anguilla’s Minister of Education Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers announced the development today on social media.
Conversations on colonial era hair rules have been ongoing across the Caribbean as students, particularly those who follow the Rastafarian faith, face disruptions to their education since they are often prevented from accessing class until they remove their locs.
In Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis, female students were recently allowed to wear their hair in its natural state to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The Guyanese Ministry of Education then launched three surveys to review the restrictive school hairstyle policies.
Over 4,000 students and 1,100 teachers have participated in the survey thus far.
