Hijab row: Schools in Karnataka to reopen on Monday, decision on colleges later

Representational Image

Amid the hijab controversy, the Karnataka government on Thursday extended the closure of schools and colleges till the end of this week. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said that schools in the state will reopen on Monday for classes up to class X. However, the reopening date of colleges has not been announced.

"The last two days have been very peaceful. Adjourning the matter for Monday, a threemember bench of the High Court today has appealed to all the schools to reopen but no religious dress codes should be followed by both sides," the chief minister told mediapersons. "I appeal to everyone to work together and see that there is peace in the colleges. Schools will reopen from Monday for classes up to the 10th standard. Degree colleges will reopen later," added Bommai.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday ordered the closure of schools and colleges in the state for the next three days. Karnataka High Court, after the hearing of petitions challenging the ban on hijab in colleges, on Thursday asked students not to wear 'religious things' till the disposal of the matter.

A bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi of the High Court said that it will pass an order directing the reopening of colleges and asked students not to insist on wearing religious things till the disposal of the matter. "Peace and tranquillity must be restored," the court said while adjourning the matter for Monday.

The Hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district in Karnataka when some students alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students were allegedly denied entry to college wearing hijab by Muslim women earlier this month.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever