BENGALURU: With the SSLC and PU board exams to be held in the next few weeks, there is confusion over the hijab ban in Karnataka. Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, however, said the State government and education department authorities cannot discuss the issue as the matter is before the court.
Earlier, Madhu Bangarappa had stated that they would get some clarity only after discussing the issue with Home Minister G Parameshwara. Asked by the media on Tuesday, Parameshwara said they would discuss it. “There is time for the exams, we will discuss and take a final call. We have sufficient time,” he said. SSLC and second PU exams begin in March this year.
The issue had started in 2022 when BJP was in power, when Muslim students wearing the hijab were stopped by a college principal in Udupi. When it flared up, the government constituted a committee which issued guidelines stressing uniformity among students. This was opposed by a section of people who approached the Karnataka High Court, which upheld the ban.
The case is now pending before the Supreme Court. At present, students are not allowed to wear the hijab -- if the educational institute has a uniform -- to classrooms or to write exams. While school students have to wear uniforms, in PU colleges, only certain colleges prescribe uniforms.