Chandigarh, July 14 (IANS) A Catholic school in Melbourne has apologised to a Sikh student for forcing him to shave off his beard, a communication from the union ministry of external affairs (MEA) to a Punjab MP said.

Following news reports of a Sikh boy being asked by school authorities to shave his beard, Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Avinash Rai Khanna had raised objections and written to the MEA demanding government intervention into the incident.

The MEA conveyed the information to the Indian High Commission in Canberra.

Khanna said Thursday that he has received a communication from the ministry stating that the school principal has apologised to the student.

"The letter from the ministry states that the school is relatively a new one. As per school rules and regulations, it is mandatory for students to shave off their facial hair. In this particular case, two students, including a Sikh boy, were stopped by one of the teachers and were given a razor to shave off their facial hair," Khanna said.

"While the other Catholic boy shaved his facial hair, the Sikh boy said that he did not know how to shave as he had never shaved before. One of the senior students told him how to shave but he did not shave his hair," he added.

The Indian High Commission at Canberra was told by the school that, at no stage, the Sikh boy had indicated his religious practices which led to the incident.

The principal of school has apologised for hurting the sentiments, Khanna said.