School in Thailand faces backlash after giving female student uneven haircut as punishment
A secondary school in Ratchaburi, Thailand is facing intense public backlash after a female student was given a severely uneven haircut as punishment for allegedly violating hairstyle rules.
While Thailand relaxed national regulations on student hairstyles in 2020, giving individual schools the authority to set their own guidelines, the school’s decision to enforce the rules in such a harsh and humiliating manner has sparked outrage online.
A photo of the student’s mangled haircut quickly made the rounds on social media, drawing widespread condemnation and prompting the school to issue a public apology.
School mangles female student’s hair
The controversy began with a Facebook post shared to a local community group on Tuesday (15 July).
Attached was a photo of a female student seen from behind, showing a noticeably uneven haircut.
Some strands fell below her shoulder blades, others hovered just past her shoulders, while a few sections were chopped above shoulder length, creating a visibly mangled appearance.
Source: ข่าวสารบ้านโป่งทุกกรณี on Facebook
“Is this really acceptable behaviour from the school?” the caption read. “Even if there are rules, students have feelings, too. There should be a better way to solve the problem. It’s not right to just grab a student and cut their hair like this.”
The post further highlighted that the haircut was done using ordinary scissors meant for cutting paper.
Keen-eyed netizens later identified the school as an all-girls institution in Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi province.
Netizens urge student’s parents to file formal complaint
Commenters overwhelmingly expressed sympathy for the girl, with many urging her parents to lodge a formal complaint against the school.
However, some commenters defended the school’s actions, arguing that the incident could have been avoided if the student had followed the rules from the start.
Before Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court overturned a decades-old regulation in March, public schools were required to enforce strict hairstyle rules: boys with cropped hair and girls with hair no longer than shoulder length.
Schools are now allowed to set their own grooming standards.
School responds with public apology after backlash
Two days after the viral post, Narivooth School issued a public apology via Facebook.
The school expressed “sincere apologies to the student, her parents, and all concerned parties” and acknowledged the public’s discomfort and dissatisfaction over the matter.
Source: โรงเรียนนารีวุฒิ Narivooth School on Facebook
“We value the rights and dignity of every student,” the statement read.
It also confirmed that the staff member involved had been formally warned, and that the school had begun reviewing its disciplinary practices and internal administrative procedures.
The school added that it would improve its approach to handling student discipline by adopting “more appropriate and age-sensitive methods” that are in line with “educational principles and respect for human rights”.
In closing, it thanked the public for their feedback, noting that the criticism would help guide improvements in how it cares for and supports its students.
Also read: Man pours superglue on sleeping NUS student’s head inside bus, victim forced to cut off hair
Man pours superglue on sleeping NUS student’s head inside bus, victim forced to cut off hair
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Featured image adapted from อีซ้อขยี้ข่าว : อีซ้อ on Facebook.
