Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB/ANK)
Mangaluru, Jun 25: The management of St Agnes College on Monday June 25 issued a clarification on the protest over wearing hijab in classrooms by a few students.
A bunch of girls clad in burkha staged a protest along activists of Campus Front of India, claiming that their democratic right was 'taken away' from them, as they were not allowed to wear headscarves inside the classroom.
In a press release, the management said, "St Agnes College is a minority institution catering to women’s education in particular. We respect every student who chooses to study here.
"The management has framed rules and regulations to maintain order and discipline. Accordingly, the college rule states that the students are not permitted to wear headscarf inside the classroom only. However, we have no objection if they wear it outside. The students and their parents are aware of this rule before seeking admission in our college. Yet a few students have gone on a protest without even submitting memorandum.
"If there are any issues with any student, the management will settle the matter with the students and their parents," the college said.
After hearing the news, a former student who runs a business in the city said, "Next year the institution is going to celebrate its centenary jubilee. I completed my final year in 1998. I had Muslim classmates but there was no such issue during my years in the college. As I know, the institution has huge respect towards the students and treats everyone equally. My Muslim classmates followed all the rules and regulations without a single complaint, and I feel right now the issue that has erupted is unnecessary. I don't think there is any such issue in the institution."
Nusrath Fathima, another former student said, "I completed my gradution from this institution recently, but I did not find any such issue during my studies. Be it the management or the staff, they are very cordial in treating the students. I was not wearing hijab in the classroom, but once my classes were done I used to wear hijab in the campus. No one objected to it. As students, it is our duty to follow the rules and regulations of the college. It is nothing to make an issue of at all. As students if we do not follow the rules and regulations of the college then we do not deserve to call ourselves students."