Some school teachers in Karnataka, who allowed students with hijab to take exams, have reportedly been suspended, CNN News18 reported.
Earlier this month, the Karnataka High Court had passed a verdict regarding wearing hijab in educa-tional institutes calling it a “non-essential” religious practice and not allowing it in schools.
Reportedly, a school allowed girls with hijab, and in one case burqa, to appear in their exams. As the media highlighted the incident, the education de-partment rushed to the spot to take notice.
According to Harish Upadhya, who is a journal-ist associated with CNN News18, an education offi-cer was asked to submit a report about the event.
After the report’s submission, five invigilators and two superintendents of the exam centre were suspended by the government.
As Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams began in Karnataka, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that action will be taken against anyone wearing a hijab in the exam hall.
Meanwhile, the Muslim girls who wished to ap-pear for their examination wearing hijab were denied entry in citing the recent High Court verdict. The authorities of an exam centre in a school in Hubballi district sent back the Muslim girls, who came to write exams sporting the hijab.
A similar scene was witnessed at a government school in Ilkal town of Bagalkote district, where Muslim students were denied entry to write the SSLC board exams.
In Bengaluru also called Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, a Muslim supervisor was suspended for wearing hijab on duty.
It is to mention here that on March 15, Karnataka High Court’s three-judge bench dismissed all the petitions challenging the ban on hijab inside Karna-taka schools. The court ruled that wearing hijabs does not fall under the essential practice of Islam.—AP