The mom of a Cape Town boy feels a rule at his school which says pupils must not cut their hair too short smacks of racism.
|||Cape Town - The mother of a Table View High pupil feels a school rule which insists that pupils must not cut their hair too short smacks of racism.
Grade 8 pupil Jaedan Lotz, 13, was given detention after cutting his hair short, despite the school’s code of conduct only stipulating that boys’ hair may not be completely shaved off. The rule was apparently in place because bald white boys would look like convicts, she said.
Jaedan visited the barber last Wednesday and left with very short hair despite having asked that it not be cut too much.
When he returned home his mother, Penny Lotz, saw immediately that his hair was too short and the next day, she said, he had been reprimanded and given two weeks of detention.
Lotz raised her unhappiness about the rule with the school earlier this year after being told pupils’ hair could not be cut short. She said she was told by the principal that “white boys with bald heads would look like convicts”.
She wrote to the Cape Times this week in frustration after receiving no response from the school or governing body on why the rule could not be amended.
Lotz said the rule was racist and she added that she was sure that if white pupils had been hauled over the coals for how they cut their hair there would be a massive outcry.
She wrote in a letter to the school: “I think it’s a gross injustice and highly inconsiderate that my child is subjected to a rule that suits the cause of white boys. “
Lotz suggested that only white boys be held to the “no bald head” rule.
Table View High School’s code of conduct stated that boys’ hair must be “neat, clean and well-groomed at all times”.
“Hair may not be totally shaved off (no bald head) – if this rule is ignored the learner will stand outside the deputy’s office until such time that his hair has grown back to an acceptable length.”
Lotz said it was obvious that Jaedan was not bald as his hair was clearly visible.
The school’s principal, Randall Southgate, did not return a request for comment.
Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant, said it was up to a school’s governing body (SGB) to determine the code of conduct. “In terms of the South African Schools Act, school governing bodies may decide on dress codes, including hair styles, as part of their code of conduct.”
She said training had been provided to SGBs about how to draft codes of conduct and dress codes, and disciplinary procedures, in line with constitutional values and the law.
Casey said Grant’s office had received a copy of Lotz’s e-mail and had referred it to the school’s district office for resolution. “The district is currently dealing with the matter and we await their response.”
The SGB chairwoman could not be reached.
michelle.jones@inl.co.za
Cape Times