Hijab issue: 19 Muslim girl students to miss studies

Three months after Karnataka High Court ruled that Muslim girl students should abide by the decisions of the college development committees (CDCs) and wear prescribed uniforms without hijab, 19 students of government first grade college at Haleyangadi here have been skipping classes.

The students, who are adamant on wearing hijab in classrooms, are now on the verge of dropping out of the college as they have neither written examinations nor attended classes for the last three months. Similar issues at university college of Mangalore, government first grade college at Uppinangady were solved after discussions with students and parents. However, the 19 students at Haleyangadi college are facing loss of education after the college authorities strictly prohibited wearing of hijab inside the institution as per the High Court verdict on March 15.

Though the students say that the High Court order is only applicable to pre-university colleges, the Court clarified that the order is confined to all institutions where the CDCs have prescribed specific dress code or uniform.

Some students have made up their mind to discontinue studies though they still have a distant hope that the college authorities will reverse their decision, sources said.

College principal K Sridhar said the 19 girls, who are third year degree students, did not appear for the exams and skipped the new semester classes. Though they tried to convince the students to comply with the High Court order, they are insisting on wearing hijab, he said.

The talks with parents of the students were also disappointing, the principal said, adding it is unfortunate to see the girls, who studied at the college for two years, dropping out suddenly.