The George Stark High School headmaster, Masimba Mupavaenda, sparked debate on social media platforms after he was filmed using a pair of scissors to plough through the hair of all learners who did not have proper haircuts on Monday.
The video of the “headmaster-cum-barber” posted on social media by The Herald ignited debate on Tuesday, with some commentators in support of the school head while others said his conduct was inappropriate.
Mupavaenda said he cut the learners’ hair because the school does not tolerate “stylish haircuts”. He said:
We discovered that the calibre of learners at George Stark have a tendency of coming to school unprepared in the sense that as you have just seen, there are some who still have stylish hair, some have tints and all sorts of hairstyles which do not promote good learning at a learning environment.
So that being the case, I decided not to send them back home because they will loiter until it was time to go home.
Commenting on the video, a Twitter user, @Ham2Hamandishe, voiced his support for the headmaster saying:
Thumbs up Mr Headmaster. (For) Restoring pride, dignity and order in the learning fraternity.
Another social media user, @Sonny_Homu, said rules should be followed by everyone. He wrote:
Rules are there to be followed. The parents know the rules and so do the students.
You either toe the line or face the music. Well done for implementing what we already know.
Among the headmaster’s critics was @Melotlover1996 who said the school head had a colonial mentality.
I am failing to grasp the correlation between hairstyle, discipline and educational outcomes. This is just an archaic, and colonial mindset. It’s abuse. Period.