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Recommendation to Amend the Practice of Restricting Hairstyle of Students [2005] KRNHRC 12 (1 January 2005)

In response to petitions on restrictions on students' hair length imposed by some middle
and high schools, the Commission reviewed measures to improve the practice.

Problems related to limitations and restrictions on students' hairstyles stem from the
social customs and practices at middle and high schools. Although the Ministry of
Education and Human Resources Development and various municipal and provincial
school boards are now instructing schools to stop enforcing hairstyle restrictions and
set reasonable rules by reaching a democratic consensus, there seems to be no visible
Improvement of Statutes, Legal Systems, Policies, and Practices on Human Rights 31
improvement at the school level.

The Commission recommended the Minister of Education and Human Resources
Development and the superintendents of each school board to guide schools
1) to carry a minimal level of hairstyle restrictions strictly for educational purposes and
2) to provide a system to effectively reflect students' opinions when initiating or revising a
school code of discipline related to hairstyle, as the freedom to choose one's own
hairstyle constitutes a basic human right.
In acceptance of the recommendation, the Minister of Education and Human Resources Development
issued a directive to each school to minimize the restrictions.