The decision to ban a young male student from school because of his haircut has divided a West Australian community, sparking calls for the education system to ditch its “alienating rules.”

On Thursday, it came to light that a student at John Paul College in Kalgoorlie had been barred for four consecutive weeks after the school deemed his hairstyle “inappropriate.”

The boy’s mother, Petrina Wilson, told the Kalgoorlie Miner that her son’s mullet and shaved head, which was a result of football celebrations, breached the school’s uniform and personal appearance expectations policy.

As a result, he was barred from entering the school for a month.

“My son is being victimized and treated like he is a bad person,” Mrs. Wilson told the Kalgoorlie Miner.

Supporters for both the boy and the school flocked to the comments section on Facebook to defend their own beliefs, with many criticizing Mrs. Wilson for allowing her son to keep the look.

“You sign the dress code when your kid starts at the school so you should abide by it. If you don’t agree then don’t sign and send your kid to another school. Simple as that,” one woman wrote.

“Society has rules we all follow. Don’t set your kids up to fail,” said another.

“Teachers have a hard enough day without having to deal with this. Surely his education is more important than taking a stand on this insignificant issue,” another supporter of the school’s decision said.

On the opposing side, others questioned how much of an impact a simple hairstyle could really have on a learning environment and whether the punishment was justified.

“What’s hair got too do with learning,” one woman asked, “it’s the brain that observes the education, not the hair.”

A hairdresser shared the story, alerting parents to the “personal vendetta, segregation and discrimination”.

“Is this really about a child’s haircut?” they wrote.

“Be aware parents! This is not okay!”

But this is not the first time a male student has been punished for the way he expresses himself through his hair.

In February, mullet-sporting students were given an…