7 teachers in Gadag suspended for allowing students to write SSLC exam in hijab

Bengaluru, Mar 30: Seven teachers have been suspended on charges of allowing SSLC students to write the examination wearing hijab in Gadag district.

The issue came to light after a video of the girl students writing the examination wearing hijab was viral in a section of the media.

Out of seven school officials suspended from Gadag's CS Patil Boys and Girls High School, five - SU Hokkala, SM Pattara, SG Godke, SS Gujamagadi and VN Kivudar - are teachers at the school. The other two - KB Bhajantri and BS Honagudi - are chief superintendents of the exam centre, who were in charge of appointing invigilators.

The full bench of Karnataka High Court had recently ruled that hijab is not an essential religious practice and everyone should abide by the uniform dress rule.

The Karnataka government had made it clear that everyone has to follow the High Court ruling or else they will not be allowed to write the exam.

According to the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB), over 8.69 lakh students had enrolled for the exam but 20,994 students did not turn up. Last year, the absentees were only 3,769.