Okyeame Kwame is a Ghanaian rapper
On the debate about whether senior high school students should be allowed to keep their natural, long hair, Ghanaian musician, Okyeame Kwame, has said that the best education will not require students to cut off their hair.
His comments come after the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, stated that schools under the Ghana Education Service (GES) would not tolerate long hair “today or tomorrow.”
The minister’s comment, which he made during Mawuli Senior High School’s 75th-anniversary celebration in the Volta Region on October 25, 2025, has sparked discussions.
He stated that “the secondary school environment is not a place for a beauty contest.”
Cocktail of reactions as social media users debate ‘no tolerance of long hairs in SHS’ saga
Reacting to the issue, Okyeame Kwame took to his Facebook page on October 27, 2025, to share his views through a story involving his daughter.
The rapper explained that his daughter had asked if he would cut her hair so she could receive the “best education.” His response was an emphatic no, as he said he believes that education should never demand such a sacrifice.
According to him, the essence of good education lies in building an identity, character, and intellect, not in controlling a student’s appearance.
In his post, he detailed the conversation with his daughter to stress that schools should prioritise nurturing critical thinking, creativity, and confidence, rather than enforcing outdated rules inherited from colonial times.
“Yesterday, my daughter asked me, ‘Daddy, would you cut off my hair so I get the best education?’ I answered with a resounding no! She asked why, and I said, the best education will not require that you cut off your hair.
“The best education will teach you about who you are (identity). It will focus on your brain and not your hair. It will intentionally introduce you to thinking skills and a global perspective. It will encourage you to exercise your body and brain through difficult tasks.
“It will focus on what is in your head, not what is on it. It will encourage you to question everything and everyone, regardless of authority. It will teach you to eat healthy, stay fit, and develop resilience against hard times. It will teach you what poverty is and give you the tools to work yourself out of it. It will not enforce regurgitation or clamp down on imagination.”
He further stated that, “I continued, if an education system gave you all these, then maybe I might let you cut your hair to experience it. She said, if the education systems delivered these, it wouldn’t focus on my hair.
“Hon Minister of Education, please stop majoring in minors. This is 2025! Ahaaa, and then my daughter asked, since we started cutting girls’ hair as a result of orders from our colonial masters, what Ghanaian character has it moulded?” Okyeame Kwame wrote.
The ongoing debate intensified last week after a viral video showed a first-year female student in tears at a barbering salon, cutting off her natural hair as part of preparations for her admission to Yaa Asantewaa Senior High School in Kumasi.
Read the post below:
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