Karnataka Board SSLC exams: Girls in hijab removed from exam centres

A few girls who tried to appear for their Class 10 board examination wearing hijab were denied entry in Karnataka on Monday citing the recent high court verdict. A majority of Muslim students chose to write the exam without hijab, the Karnataka Education Department officials said, adding that “exams were more important for them than wearing the headscarf in exam halls”.

Authorities at an exam centre in a school in Hubballi district sent back a few girls who came in wearing hijabs. A similar scene was witnessed in a government school in Ilkal town of Bagalkote district where Muslim students were denied entry to write the SSLC board exams. In Bengaluru, a Muslim supervisor was suspended for wearing hijab on duty.

The full bench of Karnataka High Court had recently ruled that hijab is not an essential religious practice and everyone should abide by the uniform dress rule. The Karnataka government had made it clear that everyone has to follow the high court ruling, else they will not be allowed to write the exam.

According to the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB), over 8.69 lakh students had enrolled for the exam but 20,994 students did not turn up. Last year, the absentees were only 3,769.