BHOPAL: After Karnataka, the ‘no hijab in schools’ controversy now seems to have reached Madhya Pradesh.
While supporting the ban on wearing hijab in schools, the Madhya Pradesh School Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar said on Tuesday that the state government will soon decide on the issue of banning Hijab in schools. “Hijab isn’t part of school uniform, which is why wearing it should be banned in schools. Traditions need to be followed by people in their homes and not at schools. We’re working on strict enforcement of dress code at schools,” the minister said when questioned by journalists in Bhopal over the Karnataka Hijab row.
When questioned about whether the wearing of hijab in schools will be banned in MP also, the minister said the issue will be examined and a decision on it will be taken soon.
However, in a fresh video, the minister said the school education department is working at strictly enforcing the dress code in all schools in the state from the coming academic session. “The school education department is working to strictly enforce dress code in all schools from next academic session, as a dress code ensures a sense of equality among students, helps in enforcing discipline as well as gives identity to each and every school,” Parmar said.
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The minister’s statement backing the ban on hijab in schools was enough to spark a political controversy in the state.
Opposition Congress, while terming the minister’s remark as another example of ruling BJP’s “mental bankruptcy,” accused the minister and state government of working on a divisive agenda even in schools, instead of focusing on improving the quality of education in MP schools.
“The minister needs to tell us what is his priority, working on the proper functioning of schools amid COVID pandemic, improving quality of education by filling vacancies in government schools or pursuing the agenda of communal divide,” MP Congress spokesperson Abbas Hafiz said.
“Our Constitution has granted to every citizen the right to practise his/her religion. But the BJP government is trying to deprive even school-going children of their religious practices. Turban wearing by Sikhs and wearing of hijab by Muslim girls and women has been going on for many decades. But this government wants to put an end to these age-old religious practices and traditions, which speaks volumes about the mental bankruptcy of those presently in power,” said Hafiz.
The minister’s remarks came in the wake of the raging controversy in Karnataka, where a section of students is demanding revoking the ban on wearing hijab in schools.
The central Indian state MP has around 1.25 lakh government schools, where there is already a provision of school uniforms. The state government funds the school uniforms of Class I to Class VIII students in all state government schools in MP.