Achimota/Rasta Ruling: We Don't Give A Damn - NAGRAT Prez Expresses 'Anger' Over Court Ruling

President of NAGRAT, Mr Angel Carbonu says the teachers of all the Senior High Schools in the country will comply with the Accra High Court ruling that enjoins Achimota Senior High School to admit the two Rasta students who were denied admission based on their dreadlocks.

According to him, the ruling of the Accra High Court is not only limited to Achimota Senior High Court but rather to all Senior High Schools across the country as the ruling has now empowered students belonging to all manner of a religious group.

“The court has ruled and if you like, you can come to school with the hairstyle of the Titan of the Mohican and we [teachers] will teach you. Some students can even come to school in jelly curls, afro or dreadlocks; that is no more our problem . . . today it is Rasta and tomorrow it can be Fetish Priest or Priestess because per the ruling of the court, they are all welcome and accepted in schools,” he noted.

“There are some people whose religion don’t allow them to wear sandals. We [teachers] lose a dime or a thing. We cannot limit the ruling to only Achimota School but all Senior High Schools in the country,” he stressed.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Angel Carbonu explained that the rules in Achimota Senior High School is not about Rasta but instead it is about keeping a certain hair in order for students to conform to the rules and regulation of the school.

He added that part of obeying school rules and conforming to school rules is part of training and an upbringing of a child; explaining why students have to follow certain rules and regulation in senior high schools.

He maintained that the Achimota School rule is not targeting Rastafarians or any particular religion except that it is the standard rule, but since the court has ruled against it on the ground of human right, the teachers are enjoined by the law to obey the ruling.

He revealed that the teachers are not bothered, indicating that they will act cold towards it as their mandate as teachers do not include raising and disciplining students but rather are being paid by the government to teach.

He was of the view that the ruling of the Court is a recipe for indiscipline which used to exist in the 1980s which the teachers with the management of Ghana Education Service fought to bring it under control; thus, the recent conformity to rules in schools is as a result of their effort.

“If they want to return to those days then that is their problem. We the teachers, don’t give a damn. We have not lost anything. It is the problem of the society; the society gets the type of youth they want in that society,” he fumed.