Male students at the school No. 2 in Navoi city were gathered in the gym and had their hair cut en masse. The school principal Nurkobil Yusupov allegedly invited a hairdresser, gathered young men from different classes and ordered them to cut their hair. The accompanying photo shows the very process which was overseen by National Guard officers, who are now assigned to schools to check attendance.

The head of the department of preschool and public education of the Navoi province, Rano Khaitova, said that such actions “cannot be justified in any way.” 

“We will fully audit this school. This situation is absolutely unacceptable. In fact, this type of principals must be sacked. At school, no onehas the right to touch a student's hair. This does not comply with the rules of teacher ethos,” said the head of the children’s school department. 

Spokesman to Navoi province National Guard Department Ramazon Kubaev said that National Guard officers were against this initiative of the school director. 

“Our assigned staff learned about this situation when they came to the school to check attendance. Of course, this is unacceptable. So they told the school principal to stop the process and send the students back to classes,” he said. 

Children's Ombudsman Surayyo Rakhmonova, in a commentary said that “this was absolutely unacceptable.” 

“This breaches the child’s freedom of privacy and his right to respect for honor and dignity. It is necessary to take appropriate measures against the principal who allowed this action. Now measures are being taken to prevent the recurrence of such inappropriate situations in other educational institutions in the future,” said the children’s ombudsman. 

Attempts to excessively systematize the appearance of students occur regularly in Uzbekistan schools. They measure the length of their hair and the height of their socks, reprimand them for their hairstyles, and try to prohibit them from wearing sneakers to school. 

Meanwhile, a study from the University of Cambridge found that school uniforms can limit children's mobility, especially for girls in the lower grades. Scientists attribute this to the fact that girls are uncomfortable participating in active games in skirts or dresses. They found that in countries where school uniforms are mandatory, children move less than the 60 minutes a day recommended by the World Health Organization.