The decision was reached after extensive consultation with parents who were strongly in favour of the amendment, but then received a massive backlash on social media from the public days later.
Well I say good for them, good for the school, good for the students and good for our country.
This decision followed closely on the heels of a scandal in Pretoria, where black girls accused their school’s administration of racism by restricting the ways in which they can wear their natural hair.
Only after protests did the school amend their code of conduct.
I, personally, find it refreshing for a school to be proactive and to voluntarily create opportunities to foster diversity.
It baffles me that South African schools are so hell-bent on forcing children to fit into a little box.
A conservative box with archaic ideas at that.
Look, I grasp the importance of conformity in schools and I definitely think there is merit in requiring children to wear school uniforms, especially since teenagers place this self-imposed pressure on themselves to be perfect and to fit in while also still standing out.
Many teens struggle with their self-esteem while navigating their pubescent years, so requiring them to look the same, eliminates less-fortunate children from feeling inferior.
And although uniforms are expensive, buying ‘weekend clothes’ for every day of the month, will surely crack even the heftiest of bank accounts.
Having attended middle- and high school in the United States, I know first-hand the circus that daily civvies can cause.
It really is just like in the movies.
You have the preppy group, the punks, goths, hippies, nerds, the girls who leave little to the imagination and unfortunately children feel obliged to pick a pack and subsequently confirm to the group’s culture, often times confirming the negative stereotypes associated with them.
Race and gender equality were two of the most contested and controversial issues of the recent US election, which may seem unrelated to this school’s decision but we cannot view the matter in isolation.
It is incumbent on schools to allow children the freedom to exercise their basic human right of being who they choose to be.
Also, it is worth pointing out that several studies have concluded that students who are happy, achieve better grades.
So if it makes the boys happy to have long hair, then let them.
Times are changing people, and if the majority of parents and students support the measure, then I commend the school for spearheading such a bold and progressive movement.
We should be encouraging and even celebrating individuality in our children, not suppressing it.
