(Adnkronos) – Long, loose hair at school. For Thailand it is a revolution. For 50 years, an Education Ministry directive was in effect requiring boys to have short hair and girls to have ‘bobs’ up to their ears. But now, after years in which many schools had seen a ‘loosening’ of restrictions, the circular has been officially shelved by the Supreme Administrative Court. So there should be no more institutions where ‘rebellious’ students will have their hair cut.
For the court, the Bangkok Post summarized, the 1975 directive violates individual freedoms protected by the Constitution. And it is outdated. Although there is still room for internal school circulars, they are ‘invited’ not to forget the freedoms of students.
It all started with a petition filed in 2020 by 23 students, who denounced the unconstitutionality of the circular. And so in that year the ministry had ‘allowed’ students to grow their hair a little longer, while maintaining some restrictions. For boys, it was forbidden to cover the nape of the neck. For girls, long hair but tied up.
Then in 2023 the then minister announced the need to find a meeting point between institutions, students and parents. But some schools have remained in 1975. And in recent years, the ‘initiatives’ of institutions that have banned fringes and dyed hair have sparked controversy and protests. In January, the Ministry of Education reiterated that it had abolished restrictions on the length of students’ hair in the name of “diversity”.
Among the protagonists of the battle that has been going on for years is Panthin Adulthananusak, a recent graduate. “There is still room for schools to set their own rules,” he commented to the British network, happy with what he still considers a “concrete step forward” in the name of “human rights” in schools.
