MANGALURU: A total of 231 Muslim students at the Government PU College in Uppinangadi, Karnataka on Friday refused to appear for the preparatory exam after women among them were told that they could not appear for the exam wearing a hijab.
The college cited a recent Karnataka High Court order that dismissed a petition by six Muslim girl students who wanted to wear hijab in classes. The Deputy Director of PU Education has said that whoever violates the order of the High Court will not be allowed to appear in the examination.
The Kannada exam was conducted on Friday. When some Muslim women arrived wearing hijab at Uppinangadi College, 50 km from Mangaluru, the college did not allow them to appear for the examination. This led to tension on the campus as around 250 students, including men, started a protest demanding that women be allowed to sit in the examination wearing hijab. Muslim leaders of the village tried to talk to the students, but many Muslim students left without taking the exam.
College principal Sudhir Kumar said, “231 PU second year students, including boys, left without writing the Kannada exam.”