Popular YouTuber and content creator Wode Maya has expressed his views on Ghana’s ongoing debate regarding students’ hairstyles and grooming rules. He argues that many of these so-called “school traditions” originated from colonial rule rather than being intended to promote discipline. In a Facebook post, Wode Maya mentioned that he initially didn’t want to respond, but since people kept tagging him, he saw it as a good opportunity to educate others.
Known for his Pan-African content, Wode Maya traced the roots of school haircut policies back to the colonial era. He stated that during this time, students in Ghanaian schools were not even permitted to wear shoes. Additionally, the rule requiring girls to cut their hair in secondary schools also originated during this period. According to him, these regulations were not solely about discipline; they were colonial practices intended to make it easier to differentiate between mulatto (mixed-race) children and Ghanaian girls.
He argued that such practices were not based on values of neatness or respect, but on control and racial distinction. “Many of these so-called ‘school traditions’ we still follow today are actually leftovers from colonial control. They were never about neatness or respect – they were about enforcing hierarchy and erasing identity,” he noted.
Wode Maya further explained that the rule requiring girls to keep short hair began with colonial missionaries and European officials who viewed African hairstyles as “untidy.” “It also served a racial purpose – short hair made it easier to tell who was mixed-race and who was African. What began as colonial control was later accepted as normal, even after independence,” he added.
Maya, who was currently awarded with a diplomatic passport by the Ghanaian government, called for a reflection on Ghana’s post-colonial identity. “If we claim to be an independent nation, then it’s time to act like one,” he wrote. His comments come a few days after Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) and heads of second-cycle institutions to strengthen enforcement of discipline in schools, including grooming standards.
Speaking at the 75th Anniversary celebrations of Mawuli School in Ho, the Education Minister cautioned against relaxing such regulations. “There is an ongoing debate on social media about haircuts and size, and the lengths of hair in secondary schools. We’ll not tolerate it today, we’ll not tolerate it tomorrow, as long as we are moulding character.” “If we give in to hair today, tomorrow it will be shoes, and the next day it will be the way they dress,” he added.
Source: Bernard Ralph Adams
