Government making moves towards banning Hijab in schools

olamide oni

January 29, 2016 10:55 AM

"The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State are right to give their backing to schools and other institutions which insist on removing face coverings."

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The British government is making moves towards banning Hijabs in schools.

According to reports, the British authorities have requested inspectors to mark down institutions where face covering veils such as hijab are hampering learning.

The Head of the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Schools, Sir. Michael Wilshaw, reportedly instructed inspectors to keep a list of school where the wearing of veils hindered learning or affect a student's abilities to interact socially.

READ: Female civil servants ordered to cover their hair

He said he was in full support of “school and college leaders who decide to take a stand against the inappropriate wearing of the veil.”

In a statement, he said, “The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State are right to give their backing to schools and other institutions which insist on removing face coverings when it makes sense to do so.

“I am concerned that some heads and principals who are trying to restrict the wearing of the full veil in certain circumstances are coming under pressure from others to relax their policy. I want to assure these leaders that they can rely on my full backing for the stance they are taking.

“I have also made it clear to my inspectors that where leaders are condoning the wearing of the face veil by staff members or by pupils when this is clearly hindering communication and effective teaching, they should give consideration to judging the school as inadequate.”

READ: White man spat on black woman in hijab while others laughed

Wishaw said he was determined to ensure that discrimination, including on the grounds of gender, had no place in classrooms.

“We want our schools, whether faith-based schools or non-faith schools, to prepare their pupils equally for life in the 21st Century Britain. We need to be confident our children’s education and future prospects are not being harmed in any way,” he said.

Recall that Prime Minister, David Cameron has recently advocated the removal of veils in educational institutions.

olamide oni