Karnataka Hijab Row: High Schools to resume from Feb 14, PUC and Degree Colleges thereafter

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday decided to resume classes for high school students up to class 10 from February 14, and for Pre-University and Degree Colleges thereafter. The decision arrived at a meeting chaired by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai with ministers of home, primary and secondary education, higher education departments, and senior officials.

"The three-judge bench (of the Karnataka High Court) has said that they will hear the case on a day-to-day basis and that everyone should maintain peace, and not to wear a religious dress at colleges until then (order). They have also given instruction for reopening of educational institutions," Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, discussions were held at the meeting aimed at establishing peace at school and college campuses and creating an atmosphere for students to study together, and to maintain law and order. "It has been decided that high school classes up to class 10 will start functioning from Monday and in the second stage PUC and degree colleges will start, the dates will be announced in the due course," he said.

Also read | Karnataka High Court adjourns hearing on Hijab issue to Monday, says not insist on wearing religious dress

The Karnataka High court hearing the Hijab issue on Thursday asked students not to insist on wearing religious garment on campuses of educational institutions, till the disposal of the matter. Posting the matter for Monday, the court also said the educational institutions can resume classes for the students. The three-judge full bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit, which was formed on Wednesday, also said it wants the matter to be resolved at the earliest but till that time peace and tranquillity is to be maintained.

The chief minister said he has called a meeting of ministers with deputy commissioners, superintendent of police, deputy director of public instruction and CEOs of Zilla Panchayats of all districts on Friday evening via video conferencing to gather information about the ground situation in the districts and to give certain directions.

"Our ministers, education minister, home minister and I will be in constant touch with senior officials, who have been instructed to remain in touch with district and taluk level officials. We will have to maintain peace, law and order until the High Court comes out with final order and all the necessary steps are being taken in this regard," he said, as he complimented students for maintaining peace during the last two days. As protests for and against the hijab intensified in different parts of Karnataka and turned violent in some places, the government declared a holiday to all high schools and colleges in the state for three days, from Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Bommai urged upon everyone including politicians, not to make statements that incite people and to maintain peace.

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Hijab row: No legal provision of penalty for violation of uniform, argue Muslim students

The student-petitioners who challenged the ban on wearing Hijab in educational institutions on Thursday told the Karnataka High Court that the Karnataka Education Act-1983 does not have any provision of penalty for infraction of uniform. Advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared on behalf of students from Kundapura before the full bench of the Karnataka High Court, said the penalty clause prescribed in the KEA-1983 was largely restricted to college management. He said the Act has a provision to impose fines for copying, malpractices and loitering.

"There is, however, no penalty for infraction of uniform," Hegde contended before the full-bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi. The bench was constituted on Wednesday night to hear the Hijab case after the single bench of Justice Dixit referred it to the CJ saying a larger bench may hear it. According to Hegde, the petitioners have been wearing their regular headscarves along with their uniform but the college management insisted that they should remove them to attend classes.

Also read | No objection to hijab, but dress code of school, college must be followed: Anil Vij

Since December the petitioners have faced discrimination and they were made to stand out of the class through his clients said headscarves were their religious and cultural practice, Hegde argued. Intervening in the argument, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi pointed out that after the girls started coming to the colleges wearing Hijab, some other students started coming wearing saffron shawls leading to chaos. As a result, the state declared holidays for three days in the schools and colleges till Friday. AG Navadgi also said the educational institutions decided the school uniform based on the state government's directive. Noting that the state government was keen to resume the classes, he said it was difficult for children as some want to wear headscarves, while others want saffron scarves.

Advocate Devadatt Kamat, who appeared for students from Udupi, said the issue was not related to uniform as the students have been following it. According to him, the students only wanted to wear headscarves of the same colour. The state government has issued an order saying headscarves cannot be worn -- a religious culture of the girls, which cannot be curtailed, Kamat said and pleaded that the girls should be allowed to continue to wear headscarves and go to college.

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"Our fundamental right is held hostage to the college development committee. The government order says the prohibition of headscarves is not a violation of Article 25. The GO is not as innocuous as the state government says," Kamat argued. The lawyer for Udupi students also cited verses from Quran which said it was incumbent upon women to cover their heads before anyone other than close family members. However, Sanjay Hegde underlined that the case was not just restricted to religious practice but "a case of essential education for the girl child". "We had Dr Ambedkar who was made to sit apart in the school. After so many years of independence, I do not want any kind of separation," the senior advocate said.

The Hijab row started in December end when a few students started coming to the government pre-university college in Udupi wearing Hijab. To protest against it, some Hindu students turned up wearing saffron scarves. The controversy spread to other educational institutions in different parts of the State, and the protests took a violent turn at some place earlier this week compelling the state government to announce three days' holiday from Wednesday.