Cape Town - While other pupils have settled into their first term, Khayelitsha teen Azania Stofile is frustrated because he is due to spend a sixth day out of class.
Azania was barred from attending Bulumko Secondary School, the high school he was accepted to last year, because of his dreadlocked hair.
His mother, Nonkosi, said she is worried her son will miss a lot of important work because he was meant to start Grade 8 last Wednesday.
Azania and his family are Rastafari and his mother said she explained to the school that not cutting his hair was part of their beliefs.
Rastafari do not cut their hair as a way of respecting their bodies, and Azania’s mother said he and his siblings had never cut their hair.
“They were born Rasta so he always had them. He went to Homba Primary with them and we never experienced problems. He was there from Grade R to 7. His siblings are also at that primary school and they have dreadlocks and it’s not causing us any problems,” she said.
Stofile said her son was frustrated sitting at home because he was excited to start high school.
“He is very frustrated, he feels horrible. And he didn’t expect this to happen. He now feels being Rasta is holding him back.”
Stofile said she was determined to resolve the issue, not only for her son but other parents.
“He is my first born so I want to make sure this is made right so I won’t have another problem when his siblings want to go to high school and other Rasta families don’t have to do the same thing.”
The school’s reasoning for not allowing her son to have dreadlocks was that he would either smoke dagga or sell it at school.
Stofile said teachers at the school told her that in the past there had been cases where pupils pretended to be Rastafari in order to sell dagga to other pupils.
“Our children don’t smoke ganja. How can you let a child who is 13 smoke ganja?”
She said the principal told her he wanted to speak to the school governing body and other teachers first so they would be aware of the situation.
The principal of Bulumko Secondary School was not available for comment.
Western Cape Education Department spokesman Paddy Attwell said the department had not received feedback from its district office on the matter.
Nonkosi said she would take Azania to school on Wednesday and hoped to take people from the Rasta community for support.
“I want to get placards and have them stand outside the school with us, just for the support.”
In a similar case, in 2013, Grade 10 pupil Sikhokhele Diniso missed a month of school after he was removed from Siphamandla High School in Khayelitsha.
Cape Argus