‘Avoid Hijab during school hours so that students can feel comfortable’
Srinagar- At a time when controversy over Hijab is refusing to die down in many states of the country, an Army-run school in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday asked its staff to “avoid” wearing Hijab during the school hours.
The circular has been issued by the orders of the joint management committee, Dagger Parivaar School Baramulla, meant for specially-abled students. The school has a capacity to teach 150 children with disabilities and presently around 70 are on the roll.
The circular came a month after the High Court of Karnataka upheld a state government order that banned headscarves in classrooms.
In a circular, a copy of which lies with Kashmir Observer, the Principal of the school has asked the staff to avoid Hijab so that students can feel “comfortable.”
“Parivaar school is a place to learn and grow emotionally. As the staff of school, the main purpose is to provide the fullest possible development of each learner.
For the same, the trust must be established with the students to make them feel welcome, safe and happy. The staff is hereby instructed to avoid Hijab during school hours. So that students can feel comfortable and are forthcoming to interact with teachers and staff,” the circular said.
The Dagger Parivaar School in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district which caters specifically to physically challenged children is run by the Indian Army in collaboration with a Pune based NGO—Indrani Balan Foundation.
The letter is doing rounds on social media and has evoked strong reaction among the netizens.
However, an Army official told Kashmir Observer that some “miscreants” were blowing the issue out of proportion.
“Let me tell you the circular was not on Hijab but for Niqab (veil). You need to understand that the students in the school are specially-abled children, who need significant physical interaction,” the official said.
He further said army doesn’t believe in such discrimination.
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