Hijab issue: 19 Muslim students to miss studies

Mangaluru: 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 the examinations nor have they 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.