Ministry of Education Investigates Dreadlocks Allegation

The Minister of Education has chimed in on an allegation that a student has been denied enrollment at two church-based primary schools, purportedly because the child wears dreadlocks. The Human Rights Commission of Belize has since issued a statement, saying that it is every child’s right to an education. Today, Minister Francis Fonseca says that according to the law, no child can be denied access to any educational institution because of their natural hair, as a result of cultural or personal beliefs. He shared the details of an investigation carried out by the ministry.

Francis Fonseca

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education

“Both in terms of the law and education policy, there is absolutely no room for discrimination against any child because of their natural hair or anything of that sort. So that would be unlawful, it would be unconstitutional. But I can say that based on our preliminary investigation into the matter it was an issue of spacing, certainly in terms of one school. I am not sure about the other school as yet. I think the father said he went to more than one school. But certainly in terms of the first school, it was an issue of spacing. But absolutely the education act and the Constitution of Belize provide protection – section forty-eight of the education act speaks to the very issue of schooling and making sure that no child is denied access to school for any such reason.”