Karnataka hijab row: Schools for Class 8, 9 & 10 to reopen, decision on colleges later

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday, February 10, said that high schools — Classes 8, 9 and 10 — will reopen in the state from Monday, February 14. A decision on reopening colleges will be taken in the coming days, CM Bommai added. The Chief Minister's announcement came shortly after the Karnataka High Court, which is hearing pleas against the hijab ban in educational institutions, said that high schools and colleges in the state — which were asked to stay closed over the hijab row till Friday, February 11 — should reopen. However, students should not wear any kind of religious clothing. High schools and colleges have been shut in Karnataka since February 9 after violence broke out at protests against the hijab ban in educational institutions.

“Schools for classes 9 and 10 will reopen from Monday. As the High Court has said, the dress code must be followed at the school and no religious garments will be allowed. A decision on reopening colleges will be taken in the coming days,” CM Basavaraj Bommai said, speaking to the media. 

Earlier on Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi, said that till the court is hearing the case, students should not wear any religious garments — neither hijabs nor saffron shawls — while on campus. 

Also read: No religious garments on campuses till we decide case: Karnataka HC on hijab row

The Karnataka government had on Tuesday, February 8, declared a three-day holiday in all high schools and colleges from February 9 to February 11 after protests broke out over the issue of allowing students to wear hijabs in educational institutions — and violence was reported in parts of the state. ​​Violence broke out in parts of Karnataka as students clad in saffron scarves confronted young Muslim women wearing hijabs in colleges. Incidents of stone-pelting and public disorderliness were reported in Bagalkot and Shivamogga, among other places.  In Shivamogga, a large group of students wearing saffron shawls were seen gathered at the Government First Grade College in the city’s Bapujinagar. One of them climbed a flagpole in the college and hoisted a saffron flag. The situation prompted district authorities to impose Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to restrict gatherings. 

Later, the Bengaluru police also imposed prohibitory orders banning protests near schools and colleges. 

Also read: How the Karnataka anti-hijab protests were part of a calculated plot across the state