By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Alappuzha: Wide spread protests have arisen in different parts of the state against the act of the school which ousted a Muslim girl in 10th standard for wearing the head-scarf. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education has written to the Believers Church English Medium School, Alappuzha in Kerala to give its explanation on the issue. The Alappuzha District Collector has called for a meeting of both parties today. There also reports that complaints of similar incidents in other schools have been filed.
All major political parties and religious organizations have come up in protest against the act of the school. The Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Sunni Students Federation (SSF), Campus Front and National Women’s Front organized demonstrations to the school yesterday. The Muslim Students Federation has decided to take strong measures, if action was not taken against principals who put a ban on the use of head-scarf in schools. The organisation’s state president PK Firose opined that the act of ousting the girl from school for wearing scarf was anti-Constitutional. He demanded that the government take necessary measures against all such institutions which violate religious rights of students. The district chairman of the Muslim Aikya Vedi criticized the school’s act as amounting to the neglect of the secular, democratic, pluralistic culture and tenets of the nation. The district president of the Jamat e Islami opined that none can hinder the right of a Muslim girl to wear the head-scarf in secular India. The Campus Front demanded to arrest the principal who hurt religious feelings.
The CBSE’s letter has reportedly asked the school to give its comments before the Board moved to further appropriate action on the incident. It said that actions like the one which happened in the school were a violation of the Affiliation Bye-laws of the Board. The District Collector has called for a meeting to discuss the matter in which the girl Nabala, her parents and the school authorities are supposed to participate. The Collector will reportedly take any necessary action on the incident after the meeting.
According to media reports, some parents have filed complaints against certain schools in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts for not allowing to wear the head-scarf. A school in Alappuzha district has denied media reports that it had ousted two Muslim girls for wearing the scarf. The school maintained that the girls were given TC according to the request of their parents. However, the parents of the ousted girls reportedly refuted the school’s claims and challenged the school authorities to mention it in the prospectus if head-scarf could be worn in the school. They alleged that girls who wore head-scarves had to take them off once they entered the school premises. It was also mentioned in the prospectus of the school last year that head-scarves were not allowed in school.
The head-scarf row arose in the state when a Muslim girl named Nabala was reportedly thrown out of the Believers’ Church English Medium School in Alappuzha. The 10th standard girl was given TC last month by the school authorities. The reason for ousting mentioned in the TC was that ‘head-scarf was not allowed in the school’. The girl’s parents approached the district Collector who ordered an inquiry into the matter. The enquiry of the RDO has reportedly found apparent evidence for the violation of fundamental rights in the incident. The DPI has ordered the district DDE for a detailed inquiry after the latter submitted his initial report on the incident. The State Human Rights Commission has registered a case suo moto and ordered the Principal Secretary of General Education to submit a report on the incident.