As the Pre University (PU) board exams for Class 12 students begin in Karnataka on Friday, April 22, two students who had moved the High Court against the hijab ban in institutions returned without writing the exam. According to officials, the students — Aliya Assadi and Resham Farooq — returned from the Vidyodaya PU College in Udupi without writing the exam as they insisted on wearing the hijab. In keeping with the High Court’s judgment, the state government had ordered that any student wearing a hijab must remove it before entering the exam hall.
The two students had picked up their hall tickets from the Women’s Government PU College in Udupi, where they studied. However, when they turned up at the designated exam centre on Friday, they were sent back by invigilators as they insisted on wearing the hijab. "The students came to the centre insisting they will write the exam with the hijab, but the invigilators said there is no permission to wear the hijab and write the exam. They waited till 10:45 am and left from the centre," Maruthi Malge, Deputy Director of Pre University Education, Udupi, told TNM.
Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh had announced that the students wearing hijab will not be allowed to write the PU-II examinations. Educational institutes have also restricted staff members from wearing the hijab during the exams. The II PUC examinations will be underway till May 18.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of exams. The examination is being conducted in 1,076 examination centres and a total of 3,46,936 boys and 3,37,319 girls are writing the exams. The practical lab tests will be conducted in 1,030 examination centres and 2,67,349 students are likely to appear for it. The students are banned from taking mobiles inside exam halls. The supervisors are permitted to carry a basic set without a camera.
Taking no chances, the state education department had sought the police security cover for all examination centres and all exam works will be carried out in police bandobast. A 200-metre zone surrounding the exam centre has been declared a prohibited zone.
Earlier, the Karnataka High Court Special bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, had dismissed the petition by students seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms. The bench had also noted that wearing of hijab is not an essential practice of Islam.
With inputs from agencies