Students Should Sit In Exam With Or Without Hijab: School Authority

Ahead of the annual exams, schools allow students to wear hijab

Bengaluru: Amidst the Hijab controversy, the annual exams are on in Karnataka schools and while in the districts, many students in hijab have been unable to take them, schools in Bengaluru have steered clear of controversy and focused on education. The school authority ensures the students sit in the exams with or without a hijab, pointing out that imparting education is their reason d'etre.

According to the general secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, D Shashikumar said while some schools are following the Karnataka High Court order barring hijab in educational institutions without any dispute, others are allowing students to attend classes in hijab to avoid controversy. 

"There is no larger dispute in Bengaluru. Some schools, yes, they have at the moment are not precipitating this and they left the choice to the students and focusing more on recovering the loss of education rather than being politically motivated by the issue. This is a broader understanding of the institution as well as the parents," he said.   

One of the schools in the city, the Goodwill Christian School and College, is a private educational institution and has over 90 per cent of students from the Muslim community. But despite the High Court order, there has been no restriction on hijab in the school.

Taking notes from the controversy, Samiya Fathima, a student of the school said, "Yes, I wear a hijab in my class. Nobody has stopped me from wearing the hijab. Wearing a hijab is our right. While admitting students there are no written instructions that said no hijab."

Dr Sujata Christopher, principal of Goodwills Girls Christian College, said imparting education is their objective, and so she has allowed headscarves in classes.

"It is a very peaceful atmosphere here. And the Muslim girls wear the burkha and hijab while coming to college and while attending classes," she said.

The Karnataka high court has reserved its judgment on the hijab ban. But its order that headscarves or any religious attire will not be allowed in educational institutions meanwhile, has massively disrupted education for some students.