12 para-medical students in Belagavi leave campus after they were not allowed to wear hijab

Deputy Commissioner M.G. Hiremath rushed to Vijaya Institute of Para Medical Sciences here after a few girls refused to remove their headscarves before entering their classrooms.

Mr. Hiremath asked the authorities to allow the girls to enter and let them sit in a separate classroom. Once they were seated, the Deputy Commissioner spoke with the girls and asked them to attend classes after removing the hijab, according to the interim order of the High Court. But the students did not agree. They said that it was part of their routine religious practice and would continue wearing hijab. A girl said that the college was wrongly interpreting the order and was trying to enforce it, though it was restricted only to schools and PU colleges. The college is not aware of the statements of C.M. Basavaraj Bommai and Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, who had clarified that the order does not apply to degree colleges. But the Deputy Commissioner was not convinced. He accepted the argument of the college authorities that paragraph 11 of the order had clearly stated that it was applicable to all the colleges in the State. Principal Prakash Patil also did not agree to the offer by students that they would remove burkha but not the headscarf. The Deputy Commissioner concurred.

Mr. Hiremath later asked the students to call their parents to the college and when they arrived, spoke with them for a few minutes. But the parents did not agree to the suggestion of the officer and insisted that their wards should be allowed to attend classes with hijab.

Later, as many as 12 students left the campus as they were not allowed to attend classes wearing the headscarves. Aliya, one of the nursing students, said the college had continued to hold classes for other students, while the dozen girl students were asked to leave. “This is a grave injustice. Our examinations will start on February 27. We will suffer badly as we will be forced to skip classes,’’ she said. She also said that the college had not made any provision for online classes for those who could not attend classes in person.

Meanwhile, Ravi Patil, BJP leader, has denied that he has any connection with the college management. He told journalists that he would not comment on the developments as he was not involved in the management of the institution.