Malawi Government has warned public schools against rejecting rastafarian children in dreadlocks.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Education Jawati has said this in a circular dated 26 June, 2023.
Jawati has told all division managers and education chiefs across Malawi to let learners register in spite of their religious beliefs.
“No public school stop a student from being registered on the basis of religious affiliation including children in dreadlocks.
“A student should not be prevented from attending school because of their religious belief,” reads part of the circular.
It follows a landmark ruling by the High Court last month which ordered Ministry of Education to allow learners with dreadlocks to be enrolled in public schools in the country.
The matter started in 2017 after two Rastafarian were denied admission at Blantyre Girls Primary School and Malindi Secondary School because they refused to cut their dreadlocks.
In the ruling, Justice Zione Ntaba in ruled that the Ministry of Education’s policy requiring that learners should cut their hair for them to be allowed into Malawi Government schools is unlawful and unconstitutional on the ground that it violates the right to religion, education, and the right not to be discriminated against based on religious affiliation as provided in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi Sections 20, 25 and 33.
