Barbados: Outrage as Principal cuts 11-year-old’s hair without parental consent

Barbados: A mother is demanding justice after her 11-years-old son’s hair was cut short by the principal of Rural Primary School without her consent. The alleged incident took place last Wednesday and now the matter has been taken to Attorney Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim.  

The 38-year-old woman while shedding light on the incident stated that the principal was about to remove beads from her son’s hair, but she cut the hair in an uneven manner, when she was unable to remove the beads. The mother stated that the principal first called her regarding child’s hairstyle and informed her about the grooming policy, and she will take the beads out.  

However, the incident turned chaotic, after the child called her mom and explained that the principal cut his hair and handed him over the removed hair along with the beads in a plastic bag. The mother contacted one of his cousins who works in the same school to confirm the details and the person responsible for the same.  

“When he came home, I met him at the bus stop. I saw the damage to his hair. I was shocked,” the mother stated.  

She further emphasized that they have never cut his hair, and they have been growing since he was a baby. A meeting was also scheduled the next day with the principal and other staff members where the mother claimed that she only gave the permission to remove beads from her son’s hair, and not to cut his hair.  

“She told me she didn’t know about hair. I told her if you don’t know about something, ask for help or don’t touch it. She could have called me back or asked a relative at the school to assist,” the mother explained.  

The mother continued adding that she felt disrespectful on the principal’s behaviour as she recounted that she began laughing after apologising earlier for the mistake. 

Attorney Andrew Pilgrim extends support in ‘Every way possible’ 

The mother is now demanding justice, and the case has now been taken to Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim who has vowed to challenge the matter in every way possible. Pilgrim then expressed his concern over the alleged incident and stated that this is not how things should be handled in schools specially in Barbados. He stated the incident ‘completely unsatisfactory’ and expressed his confidence in providing justice and tackling the situation.  

A complaint has been also lodged with the Ministry of Educational Transformation, however the mother states that she is yet to receive any official statement from the officials.