Interim order not for teachers, says dept of minority welfare

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Bengaluru/Madikeri/ Mangaluru: The Karnataka department of minority welfare reiterated on Saturday that its February 16 circular on dress codes (based on the Karnataka high court’s interim order) is applicable only to institutions under it and not to every school and college. This apart, guidelines related to the uniform are applicable only to students, not teachers, it said.

The clarification after confusion in several schools and colleges, which have started forcing teachers to remove their niqab or burqa and hijab before entering campuses by citing the circular, which repeated the HC’s interim order: “…pending consideration of all these petitions, we restrain all students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa) scarves, hijabs, religious flags, or the like, within the classroom, until further orders”. However, college managements had read the minority welfare department’s circular as a fresh directive and started applying it to teachers.