Kerala Catholic school shut for two days after row over student wearing hijab

A school in Kerala’s Ernakulam district , run by the Latin Catholic Church , has been closed following tensions over a student’s insistence on wearing a hijab, which the school does not permit.

Rita’s Public School at Palluruthy in Ernakulam has declared a two-day holiday following a dispute over a student’s insistence on wearing a hijab. The CBSE-affiliated school announced that it would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday after a meeting of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) decided to suspend classes to ease tensions.

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An eighth-grade student of the school had demanded to come to school wearing the hijab. However, the school management informed that the hijab would not be allowed and that it was not part of the school uniform. According to sources, tension arose after the student’s parents insisted that their daughter be allowed to wear a hijab

School principal Sr. Heleena said she had submitted a complaint to the Palluruthy police after the student’s father, along with about six others, created a scene on the school premises on Friday demanding that the girl be allowed to wear the hijab. “Their approach was provocative and threatening in nature,” she said.

A similar issue cropped up at Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha in July last year , over demands for a prayer room , which led to brief tension.