An exam supervisor was suspended in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar city of Bharuch district after he was found guilty of asking hijab-clad students to remove their headscarves during the Senior Secondary Certificate (SSC) board exam.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, March 13, during the Maths exams at Lions School in Ankleshwar, The Indian Express reported.
The suspension was followed after parents of Muslim students staged a protest alleging that their wards were asked to remove the hijab during the Class 10 Maths examination. They also submitted a memorandum to the Bharuch district education officer stating discriminatory actions like these make them ‘feel like animals’.
Bharuch district education officer Swati Raulji said the incident was reported on the second day of the board exam. “There was no such complaint on the first day,” Raulji said.
“I have received one complaint from a parent of a student who has alleged that his ward was asked to remove the hijab while appearing for the board exam at the Lions School on Wednesday. On checking the CCTV footage, their complaint was found to have merit and so, I have pulled out the board exam supervisor of the school and ordered further inquiry,” Raulji said.
“The school, in its primary verbal explanation, has said that the students were asked to remove the veil to verify their identity as per the hall ticket,” she added.
When asked if there were rules that prohibit certain specific attire, the district education officer answered in denial. “There is no explicit mention of any prohibitions in the attire of students and so, once the identification has been done, the students are allowed to wear outfits of their preference and appear for the exam. Therefore, we have taken cognisance of the complaint we have received,” Raulji said.
