Chennai: Two students who arrived at PUC II (Class 12) examination centres wearing a hijab were denied permission to write the exams on Friday. The two students, who are fighting a legal battle for wearing hijab, were sent back home.
Most of the institutes forced hijab-clad students to remove before attending the examination.
In a tweet, ANI said, "Two students, who are fighting a legal battle for the hijab, leave the PUC examination centre after they were allegedly not permitted to take the exam wearing hijab in Udupi."
The two students were identified as the petitioners in the hijab case--Aliya Assadi and Resham. The students who waited till 10.45 am were sent back home, said a report on Edex Live.
Around 6.84 lakh students are writing Class 12 examinations in Karnataka. The exams that started on Thursday are scheduled to take place till May 18.
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Even earlier, Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh announced that students wearing hijab would not be permitted to take the crucial board exams. He also instructed staff members to restrict students in hijab from taking the exams.
The education department also sought police protection in all exam centres and announced that the exams will be held with police "bandobust".
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It also declared 200-metre zone around the exam centre as prohibited.
Meanwhile, last month, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy requested everyone to keep aside their feeling and attend the board exams. He said, students should keep aside their faith and write the exam. Students should not skip the exam for any reason, he added.