A three-and-half-year-old boy was caught in the crossfire in a spat between the management of a school and his parents over the way his hair was cut.
He was sporting a long tuft of hair, which according to the parents was for religious reasons. The principal, however, insisted that it went against the school policy. B.C. Manjunath, a resident of Babusapalya in Banaswadi, dropped his son at St. Vincent Palloti School for his first day of classes on Monday. “Within one hour, the principal told us that long hair is unacceptable. We tried to reason with him asking for his permission as it was part of a religious ritual. My son would have to keep his hair long for another 1.5 years but the principal would not budge,” he alleged. Principal Father D’Souza said, “The rules are clearly mentioned in the diary and the parents signed a declaration when their son joined. When I explained this to the father, he said he would consult his elders and revert. The next day, he told me that if they cut the hair, the child would die. This is what I said was superstition.”
This resulted in a standoff and the child has not gone back yet. “The principal returned the fees of Rs. 43,000 and cancelled the admission. Now we are struggling to get our child a seat in some other school,” Mr. Manjunath said. It is learnt that other members of Mr. Manjunath’s family have kept their children’s hair short as requested by the school.
“I told the parent, if the religious ritual is so important, they can bring the student back after he turns 5 and I would admit him gladly,” the principal said. Education Department officials said the parents are yet to file a complaint, but the principal’s statement has been recorded.
