Most schools easing hairstyle rules

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on February 27, 2006. It reports that since the restrictions on high-school students' hairstyles were lifted in August 2005, most of Taiwan's schools have accepted the policy and are gradually implementing it.

According to the Ministry of Education, 792 schools in 25 cities and counties around Taiwan have completely dropped restrictions. Another 426 schools now refrain from punishing students regarding hairstyles and instead "gently urge" students to abide by the rules. Only five schools in Taiwan now still punish students for sporting longer hair and "bizarre hairstyles".

These figures are a great improvement from those in 2004, when only 73 schools in Taiwan had no hair restrictions. Nearly 1,150 schools did have strict restrictions on hairstyles.

Regulations on students' hairstyles and dress were first introduced in Taiwan in 1969. Secondary-school boys were required to sport crew cuts, while girls' hair had to be ear-length and neither dyed nor permed. The Ministry of Education actually scrapped its guidelines on secondary school students' hairstyles 17 years ago, but most schools continued to maintain their own strict rules on hair.