UP Board exam Day 1: 4 girls skip Hindi exam in Jaunpur after being asked to remove hijab

“The students were stopped at the gate and asked to remove the hijab to go inside,” said Ahmadullah (goes by first name), father of one of the four students.

“Rules of Board exams are being followed strictly. Four students refused to follow them and went home with their family without taking the exam,” centre administrator and college principal Dinesh Chandra Gupta said.

“A total of 413 students appeared in the examination at the centre. Of them, 153 were Muslim girls. All the other Muslim girls took the exam, following the rules, except these four girls,” he said.

College manager Anil Kumar Upadhyay said: “The four girls refused to remove the hijab for mandatory checking to match the candidates’ face with the pictures on their admit cards. They refused. Two female teachers – Rekha Yadav and Firdaus Fatima – were deployed as invigilators at the entry to the exam hall to check the girl students.”

Deputy inspector of schools (DIoS), Jaunpur, Rakesh Kumar said: “So far, no written letter regarding any such matter has been received at my office.”

UP Board secretary in Prayagraj Bhagwati Singh said: “Identity of all examinees is verified before being allowed to entry to examination halls. The presence of a woman member in the squad is necessary as per norms for checking female examinees. All students, including female students, are expected to cooperate with the exam centre officials in this regard. Any school or student violating these norms will face action as per rules.”

In Jaunpur, 74,731 students were registered for the High School Hindi paper in the first shift on Monday, of which 70,787 took the exam while 3,944 skipped it.