Girls firm on headscarves, seek transfer certificate, fee refund

Muslim girl students urged Kavoor First Grade College principal Shivaram to issue transfer certificates (TC) after they were prevented from wearing hijab and writing examinations inside the classrooms on Wednesday.

Among the five students, one Muslim girl student removed her hijab and wrote the internal examinations. Two other Muslim girl students remained absent and two others insisted on writing examinations while wearing the hijab.

When their demand was rejected, the girl students urged the college principal to issue TCs. Their other demand to refund college fees was turned down by the principal.

The students who were agitating in the college premises left after the police were summoned to the college.

Barring a few incidents of students returning back home after being denied permission to wear hijab inside classrooms, normalcy had returned in campuses of colleges across Dakshina Kannada district.

Schools and colleges in the district which had remained closed on Tuesday, in the wake of the High Court pronouncing its judgement on hijab, resumed on Wednesday.

The undergraduate internal exams at Dr P Dayananda Pai-P Sathisha Pai Government First Grade College in Car Street will resume from Thursday. Thus, a study leave was declared to students on Wednesday.

“But, PG classes resumed on Wednesday and about 10 Muslim students did not attend classes,” college principal Prof Rajashekar Hebbar told DH when contacted.

Sources in Government First Grade College in Uppinangady said a notice on not allowing students to enter the classroom wearing the hijab was displayed in the college.

About 90 students sought permission to use the uniform shawl as a headscarf. When the college refused permission, students returned home without attending classes. Out of 895 students in the college, 100 are Muslim girls.

PU department deputy director Jayanna said they had not received any complaints related to headscarves in PU colleges.

“The preparatory examinations for II PUC students will begin from Thursday,” he said.