Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court has overturned a 50-year-old Ministry of Education directive that set strict requirements for schoolchildren’s hairstyles. About this informs BBC.
Back in 1975, the country’s authorities passed a rule according to which boys could only have short hair, and girls were allowed to wear ear-length bobs. Although many schools have gradually relaxed these restrictions, some educational institutions have continued to follow them and even independently cut the hair of students who violated the requirements.
The court recognized that the directive contradicts the constitutional rights to individual freedom and does not correspond to modern social norms. The decision was a response to a petition submitted by 23 public school students back in 2020. Student activists also joined the fight for the right of schoolchildren to choose their own hairstyle.
In 2020, the Ministry of Education of Thailand allowed students to wear their hair slightly longer, but left certain restrictions: boys were not allowed to cover the back of their heads, and girls with long hair had to tie it back. In 2023, then-Minister of Education Trinich Tientog completely abolished these rules, stressing that decisions about hairstyles should be the result of an agreement between parents and the school.
Despite all these changes, some educational institutions continued to adhere to the 1975 norms, citing the need to maintain discipline and accuracy. At the same time, the ban on bangs or dyed hair caused a significant public outcry.
In some regions of Thailand, teachers cut students’ hair themselves just during morning assembly as a punishment for “wrong” hairstyles. Such cases happened even after official warnings from the educational authorities. Some experts suggest that even after the directive is repealed, some conservative schools may retain restrictions on hairstyle choices.
Visit: pravda.com.ua
