The Public Defender's Office of Panama has opened a formal complaint over the alleged violation of the right to education and acts of ethnic-racial discrimination against students Kelvin Pinilla and Maycol Góndola, a case reported by La Verdad Panamá weeks ago. The students, along with the mother of one of them and their legal representative, Chalimar de Cortés, were attended by the director of Specialized Units, Anna Karina Salerno, with the participation of the deputy director of the National Secretariat for the Development of Afro-Panamanians, Verónica Wharton Pinock. According to the complaint, the incidents not only reflect a possible discriminatory treatment but have also impacted the students' emotional, academic, and personal well-being. As revealed in the initial publication by this medium, the young people reported that within the school they were prevented from wearing the school uniform under equal conditions, being forced to use different attire due to their afro hair, which they considered an arbitrary and discriminatory measure. One of the students stated that after going to the administration for academic issues, he was notified that he could no longer use the uniform, while the other denounced pressure to change his appearance and restrictions on his right to express his cultural identity within the educational center. The case also resonated among the student community, which during internal protests incorporated the complaint as part of their demands, showing that other students identified with similar situations of unequal treatment. The case occurred at the Abel Bravo College, where, according to those affected, they were questioned and restricted for their afro hair and cultural identity, sparking a student reaction and rejection from the educational community. The Ombudsman has initiated an investigation with the competent authorities and has announced that it will issue recommendations to protect the rights of minors. The action is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and current child protection norms, in a case that now moves from a public complaint to a formal investigation. With the start of the school year scheduled for this Monday, Kelvin Pinilla and Maycol Góndola will go to the school with their guardians, amid uncertainty about whether they will be able to enter under equal conditions or if the reported restrictions will persist, which could become the first test of fire for the educational authorities in this case.
