St. Andrew High School (SAHS), a respected Jamaican girls’ institutions, has reportedly banned students from wearing styled edges or baby hairs.
In a post shared on Instagram, St. Andrew High School for Girls issued a notice stating that styled edges were now prohibited on campus.
“Please be advised that the wearing of ‘edges’ is now officially banned on campus. Remember, curtains belong in the house, not on foreheads! Let’s keep our looks neat and school-ready. We appreciate your cooperation in upholding our standards of excellence as we continue honoring the legacy and inspiring the future!” the notice on their student body social media handle read.
Mixed Reviews
Comments were disabled on the post but that has not stopped it from going viral.
One woman on Instagram asked: ”What does that have to do with school?”
A mother, who goes by the username @itzme_d_toxic1 on X, wrote: “I support the school’s decision to band edges. The girls are arriving late for classes bcz they’re in restrooms doing their edges.”
“They are excusing themselves 2 the restrooms 2 do their edges during classes. The girls are even doing their edges DURING classes.
Principal of St. Andrew High School for Girls, Keeva Ingram, says the school has had no problems enforcing its strict hair grooming policy.
“Let’s be practical. St Andrews is not unique with this, by the way, we are not the only girls school out there that has done it, Ingram said in an interview on local radio station Nationwide.
She added, “I have girls moving from one class to the next, stopping in the bathroom to fix edges, according to Antiguan Newsroom.
“Parents are telling me that it takes them thirty, forty minutes to get ready in the morning to get ready for school because they are doing edges.
“Listen, my focus is on my girls full, wholesome education. Their physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing.”
“They are preoccupied w/ doing their edges.”
According to the St Andrew High school for Girls handbook, students hair must be “well groomed at all times with clean, neat and tidy hairstyles which are appropriate for school.”
“Hair may not be partially shaved. Artificial hair, extensions and colouring are not allowed. The uniform does not include head covering of any kind, unless for religious purposes. Only Black hair accessories are allowed with the uniform. Beads are not permitted.”
Ingram says the policy has been in place since the last academic year. She had a discussion with her students about the hairstyle last year and asked if it would be a problem and they replied “no miss.”
St. Andrew High School for Girls, located in Kingston, Jamaica, is a leading all-female secondary institution founded in 1925. The school was established in partnership between Jamaica’s Presbyterian Church and the Wesleyan Synod.