Kochi: The hijab controversy at St. Rita’s Public School in Kochi’s Palluruthy, has flared up once again on Wednesday, with the school management and education minister V Sivankutty issuing contradictory statements criticising each other. The Syro-Malabar Church’s mouthpiece Deepika also published a scathing editorial accusing the government of “appeasement and silence” on the issue. 

The dispute, which had forced the school to shut down for two days, reignited on Wednesday despite earlier assurances from the student’s father, PM Anas, that his daughter would abide by the school’s uniform policy and that no one should communalise the matter. 

The school reopened on Wednesday, though the student remained absent citing health reasons. Principal Sister Helena publicly refuted a report by the Ernakulam Deputy Director of Education (DDE), which allegedly stated that the school had denied the student her Right to Education, calling it “untrue.” 

“We received the notice via email at 9:15 am and submitted our reply before 11:00 am. When the District Education Officer visited, we provided all the evidence. However, the report submitted to the minister was factually incorrect. We have never denied the student’s right to education,” said Sr. Helena, adding that the school had complied with the minister’s directive to provide a written explanation. 

Her response came hours after Sivankutty, in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, instructed the school to allow the student to continue studies wearing a hijab that is part of her faith, while permitting the management to decide its design and colour. He also directed the principal and manager to submit a report before 11 am on Wednesday after “making full amends for the mental trauma inflicted on the student and her parents.” 

The minister’s stern directive was based on the DDE’s report, which concluded that the school management had made a “grave error” in punishing the child for wearing the hijab. 

However, Sr. Helena reiterated the school’s position that the management has full authority to decide on uniforms, citing a 2018 court verdict, and said a meeting would soon be held with the parents. 

“This is a secular country and we are trying to treat every student equally with the uniform dress code. The student’s parents had informed us they are ready to obey the school rules but we will have to take their written consent to ensure that there will be no violation in future,” she added. 

Speaking later in Thiruvananthapuram, Sivankutty took a measured tone, saying it would be a “positive development if any consensus has been reached at the school level.” Yet, he stood by the DDE’s findings. 

“Certain groups are attempting to create communal division based on such incidents. The government's stand is clear; it must proceed by upholding the rights envisioned by the constitution and court rulings,” he said. 

The school authorities, meanwhile, countered that the minister’s response appeared to have been made “without knowing the latest facts.” They claimed the issue had already been resolved following a meeting on Tuesday mediated by MP Hibi Eden and DCC President Muhammad Shiyaz, after which Anas had explicitly stated, “We have no objection to the student wearing the uniform prescribed by the school management.”

Amid the confusion, Deepika weighed in with an editorial sharply critical of what it called the government’s failure to resist “religious fundamentalism” in educational spaces. The newspaper described the controversy as part of a recurring pattern of “religious obstinacy,” comparing it to earlier demands for Muslim prayer rooms in Christian-run schools. 

“Those who trouble a democratic-secular society with religious obstinacy must be controlled. Let the management of all schools decide on the uniform, including Palluruthy St. Rita’s School, and those who are not interested can go to schools that permit religious displays,” the editorial stated.

While acknowledging that Sivankutty’s response was “balanced,” Deepika questioned whether the government was doing enough to “resist religious fundamentalism that tries to infiltrate, under the guise of prayer rooms and hijabs, schools run by other religious communities.” 

The editorial also accused political parties of “appeasement and silence,” saying their unwillingness to take a firm stand had emboldened such disputes. “Political parties should abandon one of two things, either secularism or communal appeasement, so that the people are not misled,” it said.