Karnataka government has announced that all colleges that were closed due to protests over the hijab issue will reopen starting from February 16. Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh announced that from February 16, all Pre-University (PU) colleges and degree colleges will reopen.
Minister BC Nagesh said, “The decision to reopen colleges has been taken at a meeting with the chief minister, home minister, and education department officials. The chief minister has instructed the authorities to make the necessary security arrangements before the college reopens.” Earlier, the government had decided to resume classes for high school students up to class 10 from February 14 after the high court proposal to open educational institutions without allowing students to wear any religious garments.
The high court, in its interim order pending consideration of all petitions related to the hijab row, earlier requested the state government to reopen educational institutions and restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag within the classroom.
Meanwhile, the government is likely to introduce SOP on the usage of hijab based on the high court proposal. According to sources, the new guidelines will let students coming in hijabs and burqas enter schools and then change into uniforms. Some students were asked to remove hijab by school authorities standing outside the school gate. The new set of guidelines is aimed at preventing such incidents.
Also Read: Hijab Issue in Karnataka: Important information for college students
Owing to the hijab issue, section 144 has been imposed in Karnataka’s 9 district from 6 am on 16th February ahead of Pre-university colleges reopening. such orders have been imposed in as many as 9 districts. Section 144 has been imposed in Udipi, Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Chikkaballapura, Gadag, Shimoga, Mysore and Dakshina Kannada for Hijab Issues. Any kind of gatherings including protests and rallies are strictly banned in these districts. Pre-university colleges and degree colleges in Karnataka are scheduled to reopen from Wednesday.
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