The rastafarian students
The Member of Parliament for Mpohor Constituency, Mr John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie, has urged the public, especially, parents and School authorities not to throw away cultural values of the country while raising children in homes and at school.
He was reacting to the Rastafraian students and the Achimota school brouhaha.
“We as Ghanaians have our culture and beliefs which we were raised with as a Country, and some are also acquired from schools, so we have to look back and do things well to help us move forward. We should not neglect our beliefs and values, we have to use our values to raise our children in our homes and schools,” he said.
The family of Tyrone Iras Marhguy and Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea, who were denied admission into Achimota School although they were both placed in the school by GES, sued authorities of Achimota Senior High School for discrimination on the basis of his dreadlocks.
They asked the court to compel Achimota School to admit him for the purposes of his education.
But on Monday, May 31, 2021, the Human Rights Division of the High Court, presided by Justice Gifty Agyei ordered Achimota School to admit both students.
Justice Gifty Agyei Addo ruled that the fundamental human rights of the two students cannot be limited by the rules of Achimota School.
After the ruling, the management of Achimota School said it will appeal the High Court’s decision ordering the school to admit the two Rastafarian students who were denied admission because of their dreadlocks.
However, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has also urged Achimota School to hold on to its decision to appeal the High Court’s decision ordering the school to admit the students.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, with Co-Host, Abena Dufie Asare Adjepong, Mr. John Kobina Abbam Aboah Sanie could not hide how confused he had become over the whole issue.
Although he was of the view that Parents and students must obey the rules and regulations of every school, he said the public must wait for the GES and the Achimota School to arrive at consensus on the matter.
“The board has taken a decision to make an appeal of the ruling, GES is saying the board cannot take unilateral decisions and that they should consult GES first going forward. Where we have gotten to, we have to wait for GES and the Board of Achimota School to take a decision,” he said.
The Mpohor MP added that “As we are moving forward, these are some of the learning curves in life. This will straighten a lot of things in our educational structure in terms of admission to the second-cycle schools because it is not the same at the tertiary level. For the second cycle, we have to look at the restrictions again, because that is the formative stage of every child. So if we leave things like that, it will worry us moving forward.”
