Knii Lante
Reggae and Afro pop musician, Knii Lante, has spoken about his frustration with Achimota School’s recent dreadlocks standoff with Rastafarian students to cut their long hair.
According to him, he has seen pictures of Caucasian students at the school with long hair, and the school will be discriminating against Rastas if it insists on Rastafarian students to cut their hair.
“I don’t think it was right to refuse an entry. But then I always like to look at the other side of the coin so that I can also appreciate what my opponent is saying. Supposing I’m a headmaster of a school, would I like it if everybody comes to school with a different kind of appearance; very soon somebody will say then we shouldn’t wear school uniform.
“Some people may take the situation and read a whole different meaning into it; so maybe that is the reason why the managers of the school wouldn’t allow this to happen,” he said on Happy FM’s Showbiz Xtra.
“As a manger of a system, if you want to put in a certain rule, it must be done across board and fairly. But this same Achimota I have seen pictures of Caucasian students who have long hair and they are allowed. So there is a contradiction in the system. It makes it look as if you are discriminating against the Rastas,” he added.
Months ago, the Achimota School denied two Rastafarians admission to the school, although they had been placed there by the Ghana Education Service’s Computerised School Selection and Placement Service (CSSPS).
The school insisted that its regulation states that all students or potential students maintain a low haircut as a requirement for admission. But Knii said he has seen Caucasian students who have long hair who have been admitted by his alma mater.