MADIKERI: Nearly 100 students wearing the hijab stayed away from classes and returned home after being denied entry to schools and colleges.
While colleges in Madikeri reopened on Wednesday without any commotion over the hijab row, it was otherwise in colleges across Kushalnagar, Shanivarsanthe and Nellihudikeri. Nearly 100 students of various colleges including Nellihudikeri Pre University College and Bharathi Vidyasamsthe in Shanivarsanthe returned home after being barred from entering the college premises with headscarves.
The Nellihudikeri PU College has a total strength of 50 students. However, 34 students stayed away from classes as they were not allowed inside the college with a hijab. The students of Bharathi Vidyasamsthe requested the institution to allow entry with a hijab. They said they were not allowed to get out of the house without the hijab and had been advised not to remove the headscarves by their families. “Hijab and education are both important to us,” they requested.
Meanwhile, students of Karnataka Public School in Nellihudikeri stayed away from classes for the third consecutive day amid the hijab row. The taluk education officer Hemanth visited the school even as many parents of the girls requested entry into the institution with headscarves that were matching the uniforms. However, the official requested the families to obey the interim court order even as nearly 30 students returned home. These students were, however, served milk from the school management and the students also studied outside the classrooms for a while.