AMN
Despite showing respect to all religion in its logo, St Joseph’s Inter College in Lucknow has barred a Muslim girl attending class wearin a headscarf.
The managing director of St Joseph’s Inter College, Anil Agarwal said that the school had a dress code. “If somebody wants to wear a religious dress, they should seek admission in a madrasa or some such school,” he said.
In her complain to the District Magistrate, mother of the student Fatima Waqar said that her daughter was admitted to Class IX at St Joseph’s Inter College on May 6 after “fulfilling all admission criteria”.
“On May 7, she was stopped from attending class and told she could not wear a hijab if she wished to proceed. But Farheen had been wearing a hijab during the entire admission process, even her admission letter has a photo of her wearing the headscarf,” Fatima wrote.
District Magistrate Raj Shekhar has ordered an inquiry into the incident by the Additional City Magistrate and District Inspector of Schools, and sought a joint report by May 19.
The school responded Friday by saying that allowing Farheen to enter the school with a hijab “would not be appropriate and granting such permission might lead to more issues in the near future.”
Farheen’s family, meanwhile, has withdrawn her from the school and is looking for admission elsewhere in the city.
In a statement submitted to the District Magistrate on Friday, the school’s founder-manager Pushplata Agarwal said that “at the time of admission, the parents had not stated that their child would study with a hijab…the student was told that she can come to the school with a hijab but will have to remove it and keep it at an earmarked place and that she cannot wear a hijab inside the classroom.”