Liberia: No to hair extensions
26/08/2007 21:02  - (SA)  

Monrovia - Education officials have announced a ban on weaves or hair extensions for students in an attempt to bring back normalcy.

Liberia, a nation of about three million, was decimated by fighting and unrest between 1989 and 2003, when then-President Charles Taylor was forced into exile.

He is now on trial for war-crimes by a United Nations-backed court. A transitional government ruled the country until 2006, when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took office as president.

'More attention to looks than to their lessons'

Education minister Joseph Korto said: "Things are rapidly getting out of hand and we have to stop the situation. Girls wearing weaves and attachments pay more attention to their looks than to their lesson.

"They often slip out of the classrooms and go to the bathroom to look at themselves, missing lesson period. This is not helping their learning process," he added.

While the ban on elaborate hair additions may seem extreme, it is part of a larger effort to address fears that a country only recently emerged from more than a decade of brutal fighting could tumble back into conflict if its government does not establish true authority.

The education ministry also banned students from wearing clothing deemed too provocative or indecent, such as low-slung pants or skirts that expose the wearer's underwear.

The penalty for breaking the rules is a $1,000 fine.

Korto said the rules were the government's way of "instilling moral discipline in our young people."

'Plain and natural'

He said the hair extensions were included in the regulation because they were not in keeping with Liberian traditions that students should look "plain and natural"

But some students said the government is fighting the wrong battle.

"They do not say whether students who dress properly are better behaved in school," said Comfort Morris, a 26-year-old 10th grader. With so much schooling interrupted during the fighting, it's common for students to be years beyond the normal age in grade schools and high schools.

"The education ministry should do more to improve the learning atmosphere than just passing laws," Morris said.

"We need more trained teachers."

A nationwide plan to offer free primary school has been slowed by the dearth of teachers.