Hijab ban will continue in Karnataka schools until Supreme Court ruling, says Education Minister

The ban on wearing hijabs in educational institutions across Karnataka will remain in effect until the Supreme Court delivers a final verdict on the matter, state School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said on Feb 21.

Addressing the media ahead of the upcoming SSLC examinations, Bangarappa reaffirmed that the current dress code, which prohibits headscarves, will continue as per court directives.

"Since the matter is still in court, we will not take any further decisions on it. The existing dress code, as allowed by the court, will remain in place," he stated.

The controversy over hijabs erupted in January 2022 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was in power. The dispute began when the administration of the Government PU College in Udupi denied entry to six students for wearing hijabs. This led to protests by the students, triggering counterprotests in which Hindu students donned saffron shawls at multiple schools.

The growing unrest prompted the Karnataka government to issue an order on February 5, 2022, prohibiting religious attire in institutions with a mandated dress code under the Karnataka Education Act, 1983. The Karnataka High Court later issued an interim order on February 11, 2022, banning all religious symbols, including hijabs and saffron shawls, in classrooms. In March, the court ruled that wearing the hijab was not an essential practice of Islam and upheld the government's ban.

The students challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which resulted in a split decision. The case is currently pending before a larger bench for review.

Earlier this month, Bangarappa suggested that the Congress-led state government might review the ban. This was followed by Home Minister G Parameshwara hinting at a possible meeting on the issue. However, on Friday, Bangarappa declined to elaborate further, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.

Return to pre-pandemic evaluation for SSLC examinations

In addition to addressing the hijab issue, Bangarappa announced that Karnataka will reinstate pre-pandemic evaluation criteria for the SSLC examinations. Students will now be required to score a minimum of 35% in all subjects to pass, as the state rolls back pandemic-era relaxations that had temporarily lowered the passing threshold.

In 2024, following a sharp decline in SSLC pass rates, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) reduced the qualifying marks to 25% and increased grace marks to 20% to mitigate mass failures. However, Bangarappa confirmed that these measures will not be extended this year.

"Last year, SSLC results declined due to examination reforms, including web-streaming. In response, the government decided to enhance normalization in students' interests. However, this year, the qualifying marks will not be reduced for any reason, and no grace marks will be awarded in any subject," he said.

The SSLC examinations will be conducted from March 21 to April 4, with 8,96,447 students enrolled from 15,881 high schools across the state. To prevent malpractice, the examination process will be closely monitored through webcasting at 2,818 exam centers.

Similarly, the II PU examination has seen a rise in student enrollment, with 15,238 additional students registered compared to last year. These exams will be held at 1,171 centers across Karnataka.