I think that the article published on 4th Nov, 2007 entitled headmaster under probe over ‘torturing’ students was blown out of proportion. It was claimed that Father Lucian Hakizimana of Ecole Technique Paroisse de Nyarurema together with the teacher in charge of discipline got involved in a physical battle to cut off the hair of a senior six student when it was already dark. This came after school management had issued a directive ordering all female students to trim their hair ahead of end of year exams. Later on, the police was asked to go to the school and find out what exactly had happened. Involving the police in such a minor scuffle is an act of immaturity on the part of the school authority. I expect the school administration to have enough power to deal with such an issue and find a solution. For the public to make a hullabaloo about trimming a woman’s hair is indeed strange. Is it not common to find an Africa woman with short or no hair on her head and still be awarded all due respect? The headmaster was entirely blamed for using excessive power and handling the whole saga unprofessionally. We should sympathize with the headmaster who was only trying to disciple the girl in the most effective and harmless way possible. Opting for a suspension is in fact, a worse punishment because the student misses out a lot while at home. Let us give school administrators freedom to do their work in the best way they can. Gatunda
