St. Aloysius College has clarified its stand on the issue of students wearing burqa in classrooms, following a controversy over the issue.
Registrar of the college A.M. Narahari told The Hindu on Friday that although students had been asked not to wear burqa in the classroom, the college would not object to it as long as the course the student was pursuing did not prescribe a uniform. If students insisted on wearing a burqa in the classroom when a uniform had been prescribed, the college would try to “convince” them to “comply”, but “would not force anybody” in the matter, he said.
However, Mr. Narahari maintained that the college would not allow students to cover their faces in the classroom as teachers would not be able to make eye contact with them and also in the examination hall as it was necessary for teachers to identify the students. The college prospectus for 2012-13 for undergraduate courses states: “Girls are not expected to wear burqa in the classrooms and in the examination halls. The decision of the principal in this regard is to be accepted.”
Asked why the college introduced such a rule when it did not have a uniform and also as the previous year's prospectus did not mention this, he said it had been done to ensure that all kinds of rules were covered in the prospectus.
Students who spoke to this correspondent on Friday said that no one had objected to them wearing burqa in the classroom.
