Politics · Other · 8 hrs ago
Peru’s Keiko Fujimori plans school appearance rules and curriculum review
Peru’s President Keiko Fujimori announced new rules for public schools that restrict students’ appearance and behavior.
The rules include bans on makeup, painted nails and dyed hair, short-hair requirements for boys, limits on skirt length and restrictions on phone use during lessons.
Fujimori also said school materials would be revised to remove what she calls ideology and focus on facts and information.
The changes could affect how students learn about Peru’s 1990s conflict between the state and armed groups; Education Minister José Antonio Chang questioned describing it as a civil war and said it should be called terrorism.
Rights groups and education advocates have criticized the measures, questioning their effectiveness and warning that the curriculum review could shape the historical narrative.
The issue is politically sensitive because Fujimori’s father, Alberto Fujimori, led Peru during that conflict and was convicted over massacres and other crimes.
The rules are due to go through public consultation before implementation, while the education materials are already under review and officials have not provided detailed criteria for the changes.
Keiko Fujimori announced rules restricting students’ appearance and conduct in Peru’s public schools.
The rules include bans on makeup and dyed hair, short-hair requirements for boys, limits on skirt length and restrictions on cellphone use during lessons.
Fujimori said school materials would be reviewed to remove what she called ideology, and that the curriculum should focus on facts and information.
Education officials said the review would include history materials, while critics warned that changing how Peru’s 1990s conflict is described could shape the historical narrative.
The measures have drawn criticism from human rights groups and education advocates, while the government says they are intended to restore order and discipline.
- Who
- Peru’s President Keiko Fujimori and the country’s Education Ministry. Students in public primary and secondary schools are affected by the appearance rules.
- What
- The government announced appearance and conduct rules for students and a review of school materials to remove what Fujimori called ideology.
- When
- Fujimori announced the appearance rules on October 12, 2026, and discussed the curriculum review on October 14.
- Where
- Public schools in Peru.
- Why
- The government says the measures aim to restore discipline and order and to promote objective educational content. It also says the dress code will help combat harassment and sexual violence in schools.
Peruvian government
Human rights groups and education advocates
Purpose of appearance rules
Peruvian government
The government says the rules are intended to restore order and discipline and help combat harassment and sexual violence.
Human rights groups and education advocates
Critics question whether controlling students’ appearance can prevent violence and say the rules may be authoritarian.
Curriculum review
Peruvian government
Fujimori says school materials should contain facts, statistics and real information rather than ideology. Education officials say the review will promote critical analysis.
Human rights groups and education advocates
Education advocate Sheridan Medina Cabrera warns that, without strict criteria, the review could become a tool to control the historical narrative.
Description of the 1990s conflict
Peruvian government
Education Minister José Antonio Chang said the conflict should be described as terrorism, not a civil war.
Human rights groups and education advocates
Medina Cabrera said replacing the term “internal armed conflict” with “terrorism” raises questions about the historical account and references to human rights violations.
Fujimori announced new appearance and conduct rules for students in public schools.
Fujimori said the curriculum and school materials would be reviewed to remove what she called ideology.
A 30-day period for public objections and criticism is due to begin.
The rules are expected to be implemented; the Education Ministry estimated they could take effect later in 2026.
- Announcement date
- October 12, 2026
- Affected schools
- Public primary and secondary schools
- Appearance restrictions
- Makeup, painted nails and dyed hair are prohibited; boys must keep their hair short
- Cellphone use
- Restricted during lessons, with teacher-authorized exceptions
- Public objections period
- 30 days after publication of the regulation
- Curriculum review
- Materials are being reviewed, including content on history and the 1990s conflict
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What people are saying
Just as we announced that students will have to arrive impeccable, there will not only be a haircut, but also a cut to the ideology that was in those school texts.
Order should not reign only in the streets, but also return to our schools, to our classrooms.
We will rely on the rigor of scientific history so that our children have access to it and their critical thinking allows them to form their own opinion.
When one speaks of replacing this designation with “terrorism,” it is necessary to ask what historical account one wants to construct.