The SSLC examinations took to a smooth start in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts on Monday. Hundreds of Muslim girl students took the examinations after removing the hijab, as the government had issued a circular making uniforms mandatory for students.
Among the 20,960 students in Hassan district, as many as 331 remained absent. Of those absent 146 were fresh candidates and 185 were repeaters. In Shivamogga district 23,117 students had taken the examination. Including 14 repeaters. As many as 391 candidates did not appear for the examination. In Chikkamagaluru district, of the total 14,447 students, as many as 702 students were absent.
Whether the government’s decision not to allow students with the hijab to enter the examination hall was the reason for the absenteeism is not clear. Except for a couple of incidents, where the parents wanted to know why the hijab was not allowed inside the classroom, the examination was smooth.
