Amid the hijab row in Karnataka, the state government has said that teachers on invigilation duty amid the ongoing Class 10 board exams will not be allowed to wear hijabs inside exam halls. The government had on March 25 issued an order stating that, in keeping with the High Court’s hijab verdict, uniforms would be strictly compulsory for students writing the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam.
Education Minister BC Nagesh told the Times of India that while students must adhere to the government’s rules about the uniform, the same must be applicable to teachers as well. He also said that teachers who insist on wearing the hijab will be removed from exam duty for the SSLC exam as well as for the Pre-University College (PUC) Class 12 exams, scheduled to begin at the end of April. “... Hijab is not allowed inside the examination hall for students. Hence, to be morally right, we are not forcing teachers who insist on (wearing) the hijab to take up exam duty. Such teachers are relieved from exam duty,” TOI quoted BC Nagesh as saying.
In March, a day after the SSLC exams began in the state, five teachers at a school in Gadag district were suspended after allowing a few students to write the exam while wearing hijabs. Along with the teachers of the CS Patil Boys and Girls High School, two chief superintendents of the exam centre — who were in charge of appointing the invigilators — were also suspended. The action was taken by Gadag Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) GM Basavalingappa, who said that the teachers and school management violated state government guidelines for conducting the exam and The Karnataka Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1966.
The state Department of Primary and Secondary Education had on March 25 issued a circular, which said that students of government schools will have to appear in uniforms prescribed by the government. Private school students (aided and unaided) will have to wear the uniform prescribed by their respective school managements, the circular said.