The Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (ESCTT) in this moment where the natural hair of students of African descent in the school system once again has become an issue of contention, states categorically that discipline and respect for authority should not be equated with compliance to rules and regulations that perpetuate humiliation, cultural disrespect and denial of the human rights of the student, of which cultural rights are anessential component.
The tragedy is that unless the rules and regulations are coupled with respect for the human rights of all and an appreciation of the cultural domains within which we function as a society horrible issues can occur.
We reiterate, that transforming negative social perceptions cannot be addressed merely by Ministerial guidelines to teachers and administrators of education. The underlying causes of such negative perceptions and action must be addressed, which is a deep misunderstanding of structures of inequality, manifested in cultural denial and disparaging of one group over another. Compounding humiliation with threats of denial to education services of the school is a further compounding of the denial of the rights of the child to an education.
The ESCTT calls for the cultural retooling of our teachers and education administrators, supported through targeted workshops and facilitated learning sessions led by competent practitioners, to help translate the policy from text into consistent, everyday practice, so that all can function competently in this the 21st Century.
We demand that the Ministry of Education protect the rights of the African child, as it should protect the rights of all children within the state. Any hair policy should be guided by action that respects and protects the social, cultural and economic rights of its main constituent the students in the school environment, where our children receive their groundings for and about life.
One of our leading Caribbean poets challenged us all with the words “It is not enough…”. We agree that it is not enough to set a policy guideline without addressing the inherited colonial racial biases that are alive and well in our education system. We said this under the last government and we reiterate now!