The parents of Oheneba Nkrabea, one of the Rastafarian students who was initially denied admission to Achimota School have confirmed that he was given a warm welcome when he reported to the school Thursday morning.
The mother of the student Madam Maana Myers said he was welcomed on campus by the Day Students School Prefect.
She said the Prefect also said Oheneba was going to be her student during his time at the school.
"It was the day students prefect who approached us in a very warm and nice manner and asked Oheneba whether he was a day student or a boarder and she said you are going to be our school son.
She said the Prefect also gave the assurance that "nobody was going to do anything to him and if he had any problem, he should just approach her".
Madam Myers said the words of the prefect were very reassuring.
The Judgment
Delivering the judgment on the case of two Rastafarian boys, Justice Gifty Agyei Addo held that the Attorney-General failed to provide a legal justification as to why the rights of the two Rastafarian students to education should be limited on the basis of their dreadlocks.
Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea were denied admission into Achimota School for refusing to shave off their dreadlocks notwithstanding that they had passed their qualifying examinations, and, had been selected into the school through the computerized placement system.
The school through the Attorney General argued in court that allowing the students into the school will have dire consequences on the school’s discipline, health, tradition, and community cohesion.
The Attorney General subsequently argued in Court that the Rastafarian students had not even completed or returned their acceptance of admission forms and could thus not be deemed to have been denied the admission.
But for the students, their parents, and lawyers, this was simply a case of a breach of fundamental rights on the basis of their religion and religious practices.
Justice Gifty Adjei Addo disagreed with the submissions of the Attorney and granted all the reliefs separately sought by the students, save for the relief of compensation in the case of Tyrone Marhguy.
According to Justice Addo, it is preposterous for the Attorney General to have even suggested that the two were not students in the first place.
Justice Gifty Adjei Addo consequently directed Achimota School to admit the two Rastafarian students.
Source: graphiconline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
The High Court Judge got it wrong. The issue at Achimota is not about religion. Nobody is denying the Rastafarians to go to Achimota because of their faith or religion. They are denied because they have refused to comply to rules required to to get admitted to Achimota. All the argument about religion, human right and right to education is not applicable in the case. One cannot claim to have the freedom of movement and so go to Kotoka Airport to board an aircraft to America. You must conform to the rules required to travel abroad by getting visa and ticket. Even with visa and ticket you would still need to travel without drugs, guns or some other contraband goods. We don't need to render our schools the fertile grounds for indiscipline and chaos where anybody can do what he/she likes. Do we want to make Ghana a jungle without a culture and laws. We don't need to destroy the culture in our schools. As mentioned above, there are rules to travel abroad. It is different from rules to travel by VIP Bus from Accra to Kumasi, which also still different from rules by STC Bus or any Trotro. We must know where we are going, what means of transport is available for the journey and what rules is required to travel. The misjudged High Court ruling must be overturned.