Ghanaians Slam GES Over Hair Rule After Video of White Exchange Students Emerges

• A video showed white exchange students at Aburi Girls' SHS with long hair sitting beside their Ghanaian peers
• Netizens have criticised the GES for double standards and a cultural bias in enforcing the 'no long hair' policy
• Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu reaffirmed in October 2025 that long hair would not be tolerated in public SHSs

A video has exploded into a national firestorm regarding Ghana's rigid secondary hair policies for girls, along with the double standards applied to foreign exchange students.

In a video spotted by YEN.com.gh, some white girls were seen with cascading long hair against their Ghanaian peers, who wore low cuts and shaved heads.

The students were reported to be from Aburi Girls' Senior High School, Aburi.

The video sparked accusations of cultural bias, colonial hangovers, and outright hypocrisy of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

In the video, the white girls, presumed to be exchange students, lounged carefree with untamed tresses, laughing and posing, while Ghanaian girls had their heads closely cropped to comply with the 'no long hair' edict.

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Education Minister speaks on GES hair policy

The controversy taps into a debate reignited in October 2025, when Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, addressed viral clips of tearful Form 1 girls having their braids forcibly barbered upon arrival at senior high schools (SHS).

The Minister said that they would not tolerate long hair in any public Senior High School while students' characters are being moulded.

Haruna Iddrisu was speaking at the 75th anniversary climax of Mawuli School in Ho, Volta Region, on Saturday, October 25, 2025.

In his address to those present at the anniversary, the minister said:

"We will not tolerate long hair in Senior High School as long as we are moulding character. There's an ongoing debate about haircuts on social media concerning the size and length of hair in Secondary Schools. We will not tolerate it today, we will not tolerate it tomorrow, and so long as we are moulding character."

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GES guidelines, enshrined since the 1990s, mandated short, neat hair for girls to curb distractions and instil discipline, with violators facing expulsion threats.

However, the video that showed the foreign girls being exempted has fueled claims of favouritism by the country's education body.

Watch the Instagram video below:

Reactions to the SHS hair policy

YEN.com.gh captured the reactions of Ghanaians after a video surfaced showing white students blending seamlessly with their peers, without the usual low-haircut policy being applied. Some of the comments are below.

Maymaytettey said:

"They should do so in other to have a better understanding. Shebi it’s about cultural exchange? 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ we are all in this together."

Icanonlybebee stated:

"Someone in the school administration is definitely receiving extra money for those girls to keep their hair."

Cakefairygh commented:

"My candid opinion is that if you want your child to braid his or her hair in high school, just enrol him or her in a school that allows it. Sometimes we copy to blindly."

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SHS first-year student weeps over trimmed hair

YEN.com.gh had earlier reported that a first-year SHS student was visibly upset after her mandatory haircut.

In the viral footage online, the Ghanaian student was in tears as she went to the salon to get her hair trimmed.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh