Class 10 girls in Gujarat asked to remove hijab, leading to removal of exam administrator by education department: The Gujarat Education Department removed the principal of a private school from her role as an exam administrator on Thursday, following a backlash from parents who claimed she forced Muslim female students to remove their hijabs before a Class 10 examination. The incident sparked widespread outrage. The incident occurred at Lions School in Ankleshwar town, Bharuch district, on Wednesday, just before the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) mathematics examination.
In response to parental complaints, the state education authority quickly fired principal and examination center administrator Ilaben Suratiya. The parents’ concerns prompted district education officer Swati Raol to act. “I have reviewed the CCTV footage and received the parents’ application regarding this matter.” Raol said “Having found merit in the complaint, I have initiated the process to replace the administrator of the exam center and ordered an investigation into the incident.”
One daughter sobbed for hours after the incident, and school staff pressured them to remove their hijabs before the exam, according to parents. Suratiya claimed the request was made to ensure unobstructed video recordings of all students’ faces. “Regulations need camera footage of all students. Suratiya, “We requested the girls to remove their headscarves before the examination so that we would not have to disturb them during the test and others would not be bothered as well.” Raol disagreed with the principal, saying, “The board does not explicitly provide any directives or principles regarding the appropriate attire to wear during examinations.”
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They removed the hijabs of the students for the examination.
Parents learned that female school administrators asked two Muslim kids to remove their hijabs before withdrawing them, citing exam rules requiring visible facial identity. The parents watched the CCTV footage. Reporters quoted a parent: “The school principal and staff harassed female pupils, including my daughter, by asking them to remove their hijab before the exam.
My daughter cried for three hours when she got home. It happened with about a dozen women yesterday. She said, “We want the authorities to take action against those responsible for this act.” After examining the situation and consulting with guardians, Raol decided to investigate and quickly replaced Suratiya as the exam center administrator.
The GSHSEB stressed that students can wear “decent” apparel to exams and that no dress codes exist. GSHSEB Exam Director M. K. Raval advised students to dress suitably for the exam. “There are no specific dress codes for what you can wear to examinations.” Students can wear appropriate clothes. Female supervisors may check a student’s face to the receipt photo before the exam to verify her identification. Raval said we’ll be well afterward.
