WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – Some students of Frome Technical High were reportedly refused entry on the school grounds Monday as a result of their hairstyles.

Grade 10 students were asked to attend school this week to sit their final examinations but some students said they were barred after school officials told them they needed a haircut, in apparent contravention to directives by the Ministry of Education that schools should allow students to attend regardless of their hairstyles.

Upon the arrival of the Jamaica Observer, some students were seen standing on the outside of the school compound. However, Dean of Discipline of the Frome Technical High School, John Virtue, told our news team that the students will not be barred from attending school Monday, and that their parents will be invited to a meeting at a later date during this week to discuss the institution’s protocols.

But at least two students contradicted Virtue’s statement and told the Jamaica Observer that they were sent home.

“I was told by the Dean of Discipline that I have to go and cut my hair,” one male student stated, “But we were told that the school rules on grooming must be observed. I told them what the Ministry of Education said in the media, and I was told that they not following what the Ministry said”.

He stated that students were warned that they must cut their hair Monday for exams the following day.

Another student stated that he was also turned back by the Dean of Discipline because his hair “needs to be cut.”