Ghana student initially denied admission by school due to dreadlocks scores straight As in exams

Tyrone Iras Marhguy, the brilliant Ghanaian Rastafarian student who made national headlines in 2021 after a prestigious senior high school initially denied him admission because of his dreadlocks, excelled in the 2023 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) as he scored straight As in the 8 papers he wrote.

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Achimota School initially refused to admit Marhguy and another Rastafarian student, Oheneba Nkrabea, because of their hairstyle. Despite arguments about freedom of religion made by their parents, the school’s authorities maintained that they could not allow the boys to start school.

The school had initially given an ultimatum to the students’ parents to either cut their wards’ dreadlocks or look for another school that would enroll them. They, however, refused and later announced they were going to fight their case in court.

In May 2021, a human rights court in Ghana’s capital city of Accra ordered Achimota School to admit Marhguy and Nkrabea. In the ruling, Justice Gifty Agyei Addo maintained the country’s Attorney-General had been unable to present a legal justification with regards to the boys’ right to education being suppressed as a result of their dreadlocks, local news outlet Citi News reported.

Marhguy, who was eventually admitted by the school, recently scored straight As in the 2023 WASSCE. The papers the science student wrote included Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Elective Mathematics. The others included English Language, Social Studies, Integrated Science, and Core Mathematics.

A video of Marhguy checking his results with his friends and joining them to celebrate after seeing his performance has since gone viral on social media.

Marhguy and Nkrabea gained admission to Achimota School after successfully passing the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Students who pass the exams and are eligible for admission are placed in senior high schools through the country’s Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS). Marhguy reportedly passed the exams with very good grades and his results were even added to the lawsuit to show he’s an academically gifted student.

But the Attorney-General, who was representing the Achimota School, reportedly argued that allowing the students to enroll in the government-funded school with dreadlocks would have ramifications on its rules and regulations as well as tradition. 

The Attorney-General also argued the students had not even completed the necessary formalities to be enrolled in the school, so there shouldn’t be a claim of rejection. Justice Addo, however, dismissed the Attorney-General’s arguments and passed judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.