Manchester school bans boy with moustache

Manchester: It is a rite of passage for teenage boys - the often ridiculed appearance of a first moustache.

But when Akaash Iqbal, 14, came into school with a slightly hairy upper lip it turned out to be no laughing matter.

He was sent home and told not to return unless he shaved it off. But he and his family say the school is overreacting over a "bit of fluff" and refuse to remove it.

Akaash has now missed nearly two weeks of schooling and last night his parents accused the school of jeopardising his education.

His father Asif Mahmoud, 42, said: "It's a nonsense. He's not shaving - he's only 14 and if he starts now he'll have to do it for the rest of his life.

"They told us the moustache was not part of the uniform. I thought it was a joke at first.

"It is only a bit of fluff - you could hardly call it a moustache but he is just a child and shouldn't have to shave this young.

"They should make it a girls' school. I'm honestly staggered by it.

"I had a call telling me to have a razor on standby, shave Akaash when he got home and send him back."

He added: "I wasn't going to do that. He's just a growing boy. He'd end up with stubble all over his face by the time he's 16."

Mahmoud said his son is still at home and he is due to meet school officials soon to discuss the matter.

The incident happened at Manchester Academy in Moss Side, Manchester. The charity-run school has a uniform policy that even staff are expected to comply with.

A spokesman for the school, which has more than 700 pupils, said it was a standard requirement that all children are clean shaven.

She said: "The Academy has established rules on personal appearance and dress which students are expected to adhere to."

And then they speak of freedom...
M. I. A.
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2009, 15:48