Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has said schools cannot cut students' hair without parents' permission and that a review of an incident at Iskandhar School was underway.
The management of Iskandhar School has been accused of forcing students to cut their hair and shave their beards before the graduation ceremony without getting permission from their parents.
“The education ministry is now working to clarify what happened at the school and will compile a report,” Shafeeu said.
"The ministry will look at what happened at the school and we will continue to work with the authorities, even if it is the human rights commission," he said.
Shafeeu said the management of Iskandhar School had denied cutting any student's hair without getting permission from the parents. He refused to comment directly without further inquiries into the incident.
“My point is that if there is consent, it can be done. Without a parent's permission, such a step is not encouraged,” Shafeeu said.
He added that rules are made by the ministry with great priority given to the upbringing of children. He said that any parent encouraging a student to violate the rules shows a very bad example of upbringing.
“It is not just a conduct behaviour rule, whether it is an assessment or uniform rule, it is the legal responsibility of every parent to enforce the rule,” he said.
The Human Rights Commission (HRCM) is also investigating the incident. The students were allegedly forced to get haircuts half an hour before the graduation ceremony on Saturday night.
The mother of one student who was taken to the school toilet and forced to cut their hair and shave their beard told Adhadhu that her son was forced into the school toilet half an hour before the graduation ceremony.
