Bengaluru: Two students were not allowed to appear for the II PUC (Class 12) exam in Udupi of Karnataka on Friday due to the ongoing hijab controversy. Aliya and Resham had collected their hall tickets and came for the exam wearing hijabs. These are the two students, who had first petitioned the court to allow hijab inside classrooms. They asked invigilators and the college principal to allow them to appear for exams wearing hijab. But, the authorities of the school did not permit them to write the exam Then they left the exam centre without taking the exams. The Karnataka government asked the students to follow uniform guidelines during the exams.
As many as 6.84 lakh students on Friday appeared for the II PUC (Class 12) examinations in Karnataka amid tight security against the backdrop of the hijab row. The hijab-clad students have been asked to remove it at the entrance and attend the examination. Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wished all students the best of luck. He further advised that nothing is more important than life. "Don't get into trouble throughout life by neglecting exams, let a bright future be your's," he said, indirectly referring to the hijab crisis.
Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh has announced that the students wearing hijabs will not be allowed to write the II PUC examinations. The staff are also restricted to wear a hijab during the exams. After successfully conducting SSLC (Class 10) exams amid the hijab controversy, the Karnataka government is holding crucial II PUC examinations from Thursday to May 18.
Read: Hijab row: Karnataka Home Minister says 'we fear for India's future'
Sources confirmed that the four students attached to Udupi Pre-University Girl's College, who started the hijab protest, did not turn up for examinations. The college sources explained that they did not even collect their hall tickets. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of exams as there is the possibility of the surfacing of hijab controversy.
The examination is being conducted in 1,076 examination centres and a total of 3,46,936 boys and 3,37,319 girls are writing the exams. Seventy-four students suffered from autism, 377 hearing impaired, 371 learning disability, 683 locomotor impairment (problem from moving from one place to another), 128 mental retardations, 103 multiple disabilities, 48 speech impairment, 355 visual impairment (blindness) and 55 visual impairment (low-vision) students are also enrolled for the exams.
The practical lab tests will be conducted in 1,030 examination centres and 2,67,349 students are likely to appear for it. The students are banned from taking mobiles inside exam halls. The supervisors are permitted to carry a basic set without a camera. Taking no chances, the state education department had sought the police security cover for all examination centres and all exam works will be carried out in police bandobast. The 200-metre zone surrounding the exam centre is declared a prohibited zone.
Earlier, the Karnataka High Court Special bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, had dismissed the petition by students seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms. The bench had also noted that wearing of hijab is not an essential practice of Islam. The hijab controversy started with students of Udupi Pre-University College and it spread across the state creating a crisis.
