Karnataka May Offer Re-Exam to Students Who Missed Due to Hijab Row, Unlikely to Those Who Boycotted

Karnataka government is considering offering a second chance to students who have missed their boards’ preparatory exams or college exams during the hijab row. The government is likely to extend help to students who could not appear for exams, however, those who boycotted the exams will not be allowed the same facility.

While the final call is yet to be out, the Karnataka government told High Court, that it cannot “randomly schedule” exams. The Karnataka Law Minister reportedly said that if students willingly boycotted exams, then the government is unwilling to help them re-appear.

Karnataka Chief Minister B Bommai told news agency ANI, “All students must comply with HC order. Your education is very important.” He also said that “It is a question of fate and education of our children. Education is more important than anything else.”

Earlier, a section of students who were asked to sit for exams in a separate room for wearing hijab had refused to take the exam. Some students even staged protests and asked that they should be allowed to wear headscarves.

Students had claimed that they have been wearing hijab daily but asking them to sit in a separate room because of it was a discrimination.

Now, that the Court has ruled that headscarves are not allowed in educational institutes, students who skipped exams before the ruling might get extensions on exams.

Over eleven days, a full bench consisting of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi, JM Khazi, and Krishna S Dixit heard a batch of pleas by students from Udupi and Kundapura, stating they should be allowed to wear hijab (a Muslim headscarf) while attending class. On February 16, the Karnataka government issued a circular quoting the High Court’s interim order that directed all schools and colleges under the minority welfare department not to allow hijabs, saffron stoles, and scarves in classrooms.

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