The Karnataka government is collecting data on Muslim students enrolled in private and government educational institutions, especially those enrolled in classes 1 to 10, Deccan Herald has reported.
According to the data accessed from the Department of Public Instruction on Thursday, there are 17,39,742 Muslim students in the various government-run schools across the state, said the report.
However, the Primary and Secondary Education Minister of Karnataka B.C. Nagesh claimed that the data is being collected to counter daily media reports with correct numbers.
The daily further reported Bengaluru South reported the highest number of minority students at 1,55,104, followed by Kalaburagi with 1,31,802 and Bengaluru North with 1,22,993 students. Chamarajanagar district reported the lowest number of Muslim students at 9,603.
The report of collecting such data comes days after the Karnataka BJP leaked the details of five Muslim students from Udupi who are petitioners in the ongoing Hijab case in the Karnataka High Court.
Defending his government’s move, Minister Nagesh told DH, “Every day, both the electronic and print media are reporting on the issue with varying figures on the total number of students sent back home for defying the HC’s interim order. Our objective was to see if the students are actually disturbed by the issue or focused on studies. We only wanted to know how many students are actually attending classes unmindful of what is happening around.”
“The department data showed that on Thursday, 162 girl students were sent home for defying the HC’s interim order in the state at 14 schools. ‘In Bidar alone, as many as 114 students from seven schools were sent back home for defying the HC direction and refusing to remove the hijab inside the classroom. Similarly, 20 students from three schools in Shivamogga, 18 girls in two schools of Chitradurga, and eight students at a school in Chikkamagaluru and two in Chikkaballapur were sent home,” the paper quoted an official as saying.
As schools till Standard X reopened across Karnataka early this week, Muslim students were coerced to remove the hijab if they wanted to attend classes.
Visuals from schools and colleges across the state showed Muslim students being refused entry into school premises if they did not remove their hijab.
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