The Ministry of Education and Youth will make draft policies on dress and grooming, nutrition and devotions for schools, available to sector stakeholders for feedback.
Addressing delegates attending the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) 59th Annual Conference at Royalton Negril Resort and Spa in Westmoreland on Wednesday (August 23), Portfolio Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the draft policy on dress and grooming will be published before the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
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“We want you to read it. We want you to look at it in your context. We want you to understand the framework within which the dress and grooming policy will operate. We want you to try it out in your schools and give us your feedback,” she stated.
Male Rastafarian students will no longer be required to wear tams to cover their dreadlocks while in school, said Education Minister Fayval Williams Wednesday morning.
Williams declared, “There have been a few times that I’ve gone to schools and I see boys, maybe not more than one or two in a particular school, wearing tams to school to cover their locks. This is 2023 we really, really should not be doing that anymore. We need to respect other people’s religion.”
“Yes, we need to say to our students you have to ensure that your hair is clean and so forth. But come on, you shouldn’t have to cover your hair unless that’s what your religion calls for,” she added.
The National School Nutrition Policy and Standards was produced by the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Education and Youth, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
It was approved by the Cabinet in May 2022.
It aims to guide the process for the provision of good nutrition coupled with wellness, especially for the society’s most vulnerable students.
The policy will seek to ensure that children entering educational facilities are exposed to good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.
“Even though we’ve gone through the rounds of consultations with different stakeholder groups before we finalised, we want to hear from you as to what will work and what can be implemented. We want your input into this,” Mrs. Williams said.
Regarding devotions in schools, the Minister advised that the guidelines are designed for upholding civility and teaching the core universal values that are milestones in the character-building of the nation.
“Therefore, the aim of these guidelines is to create an environment wherein devotions contribute effectively to the holistic development of each student. There are going to be some don’ts in the guidelines. There are going to be some things that will not be permitted,” she emphasised.
Mrs. Williams noted that an email address will be circulated to facilitate the submission of comments on the various policies.
