I’m an educationist, you are a mere lawyer – NAGRAT President hits back at lawyer for Rastafarian students

• Angel Carbonu has responded to attacks on him by Ras Wayo Tetteh

• Carbonu says Ras Wayo is speaking from a viewpoint of ignorance as he is a renowned educationist who has dealt with students over the years

• Carbonu claims teachers don't care about the ruling by the Accra High Court

Angel Carbonu, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers, NAGRAT, has hit back at lawyer Ras Wayo Tetteh over the latter’s claim that Carbonu mischievously misinterpreted the ruling of the Accra High Court.

Angel Carbonu had said earlier that the ruling by the court opens the ‘floodgate’ for all kinds of hairstyles to be 'admitted' at various schools across the country.

Ras Wayo, counsel for the two students who chalked victory over Achimota on Monday, May 31, 2020 said that Angel Carbonu was seeing things from a myopic viewpoint.

He said that the court emphasized that the hairstyle of the two students is part of their religious make up which makes it discriminatory for anyone rejects them based on their hairdo.

He explained, “everything he said is not what the court has said. The court is not saying that anybody should go and be in Mohican or wear togas around. What he [Carbonu] was talking about are abstract matters. If you want to go to Achimota School with your jelly curls, you must establish upon what basis that religion has come to stay.

“It wasn’t in dispute in court that Rastafarianism is a religion and it wasn’t in dispute. Even Achimota School represented by Prof Aryeetey, a former Vice-Chancellor of a university in this country, didn’t dispute that Rastafarianism is a religion.”

But in a sharp rebuttal on Okay FM, Angel Carbonu denigrated Ras Wayo and his law profession, stating that unlike teaching which requires specific intelligence and qualification, the law profession is opened to anyone.

“Tell him that he is a lawyer not an educationist. Everybody can be a lawyer but not an educationist so he’s not on my level. He is just a mere lawyer and I’m educationist. He shouldn’t bring himself, it won’t help him."

When they host reminded him that lawyers pride themselves on the uniqueness of their profession, Angel Carbonu said “there are some appellations you give yourself to make up for certain deficiencies”.

Angel Carbonu said that teachers in the country are unperturbed by the ruling and should not be blamed for the breakdown of societal values.

"We teachers don’t care about these rulings. We will develop a nonchalant attitude towards these issues. In the past when students misbehaved, we blamed teachers but now you can’t blame us. We don’t give a damn about this ruling. We have not lost anything. It’s problem for the society," he stressed.