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The Rastafarian student’s father, Ras Asward Nkrabea, says his son, Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea, has been scarred and traumatized after he was denied admission to the Achimota school.
Although Oheneba Kwaku Nkrabea and another Rastafarian student were sent through the Computerized School Placement System, they were unable to enroll in Upper Secondary School due to their dreadlocks.
Following this, Ras Nkrabea revealed in an interview with JoyNews that his son is currently receiving treatment at a psychological institution to deal with the ordeal.
“There has been damage because the child went through a lot of trauma. We had to take the boy to a psychiatric hospital because he was traumatized by the whole thing, ”he told Manuel Koranteng.
According to him, the wavering stance of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on his ward’s enrollment has contributed to his son’s trauma.
“One would ask the question, why would a supposedly respectable and reputable institution say one thing and the next moment do another? To me, that seems very hypocritical and it means that they have twisted their arms to get them to come out with that position. You say something on Saturday and then change positions on Monday without explaining to the public why you are changing positions. So, for me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, “he said.
In a previous GES directive, the director general, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, said that the Achimota school authorities cannot refuse to admit the two students.
“You cannot say that you will not admit someone based on the person’s religious beliefs, so we have asked the principal to allow children to attend school,” he explained.
However, after a recent meeting with the GES and the Achimota school authorities, Ras Asward Nkrabea revealed that the GES reversed its previous decision and refused to enroll the two Rastafarian students.
“Because when I was at the meeting, it seemed like they were bowing to the principal as if saying that the school is superior to the constitution. The GES is there to work for the people and not for the school leaders. At that meeting there was a lot of patronizing behavior on the part of those present.
“They despise dreadlocks, they despise African culture and they despise Rastafari. His attitude was like ‘you are nothing so that we can say to you and do whatever we want to do and that was his approach,’ he narrated.
He also indicated that the only alternative the school provided for the two students to be admitted was to have the dreadlocks cut from the classrooms.
“At that meeting, they stated that the only way to be accepted into the school is to cut the child’s dead spots and we said no. Why should I do that when the constitution has given me the right? It has given the child the right to their religion and to have their culture, “he said.
Meanwhile, Rastafari Council attorney George Tetteh Wayo says the Council is looking to enroll the children in another school.
“Children will continue to attend other schools, we know that other schools will still admit them. The young man who was six (Attachment 6) is part of a triplet, his two sisters have been admitted to St. John’s Grammar, ”said the legal practitioner.
