The British Government is Giving Schools the Power to Ban the Muslim Veil

British schools will be allowed to ban children from wearing full-face veils on the grounds of security, safety or learning grounds. This is under new school uniform guidance, that is being provided by government ministers. The effort wants to still be able to accommodate religious clothing, but says that teachers and students must be able to make eye contact. This comes soon after a teenage girl failed in a legal battle to overturn her school's ban on the nijab.

Muslim groups have not been able to reach an agreement on this ban. Some expressed shock at the ruling, while others welcomed the guidance given. Head teachers' leaded are pleased by the government's decision, saying that this would provide "clarity" and "reassurance" for schools.

Religious dress in British schools has become a very complicated issue in recent years. A few girls have received high profile court case coverage, as they fought for the right to wear a full veil to school.

A recent court victory for a Buckinghamshire school (which cannot be named for legal reasons) has helped to prompt the updated guidance in schools. The school said that the veil made it difficult to communicate between teachers and students and that it was not easy to teach under those circumstances. Teachers argued that they needed to be able to see each child's response, to see if they were paying attention or having problems that needed to be addressed. They said that if a girl wore a full-face veil they were prevented from helping children to make progress. This decision was upheld by the High Court. It refused to grant a judicial review. The ruling is expected to help form a key part of the guidance.

The guidance went on to add that schools need to be able to identify each student individually in order to maintain order and to spot intruders more easily. The guidance said:"If a pupil's face is obscured for any reason the teacher may not be able to judge their engagement with learning or secure their participation in discussions and practical activities".

Jim Knight, schools minister said: "Schools should consult parents and the wider community when setting uniform policy. And while they should make every effort to accommodate social, religious or medical requirements of individual pupils, the needs of safety, security and effective learning in the school must always take precedence."

The head teacher at the undisclosed Buckinghamshire school said it would be useful to have some clear guidelines to follow from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). According to the BBC News website, the head teacher said:"It's not right that schools should have to be arguing this out case by case. Obviously there's a trade-off between schools retaining autonomy over school uniform decisions, on the other hand we will have some very clear guidance from the DfES within which to work."

The British-Muslim community have displayed a divided response. Massoud Shadjareh, the chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission said he was
"dismayed" by the DfES guidance. She stated that: "Successive ministers dealing with education issues have failed to give proper guidance when requested by human rights campaigners about schools' obligations regarding religious dress, including the head scarf. To now proceed to issue guidance against Muslim communities is simply shocking".

However, the Muslim Council of Britain's education spokesman, Tahir Alam said the guidance did not "alter the position very much" and said "the vast majority of schools are able to solve these issues locally". In addition, Dr Tag Hargey of the Muslim Education Centre welcomed the guidance.He said:

"When you conceal the face, that actually not only dehumanizes the person involved, but also creates a chasm, a gap, a bridge of non-understanding between communities and I think the sooner we can get rid of this veil, this face veiling, this face masking in Muslim societies across Britain, so much the better."

On the other hand, Ayshah Ishmael, a teacher at a Muslim girls' school in Preston who wears the nijab outside the classroom told the BBC that wearing the veil promoted equality. She said: "You're judged for who you are and not what you are, so I think there are two arguments to the whole equality issue."

The DfES stated that it was not ordering or advising head teachers to ban the veil, but that they had the power to do so if they wanted to, as long as they carried out the proper consultation. Dr John Dunford, Association of School and College Leaders' general secretary, stated that he was pleased with the way the government was supporting leaders in upholding school uniform policies. He said that: "Repeated and blatant breaches of uniform policy undermine the school ethos".

The new ruling may reduce the large number of court cases that are brought to the high profile notice of the British public, that deal with the issue of school uniform and what constitues acceptable school dress. It has been an issue that has been going on for some time, and not all related to the Muslim veil. The government initiative has tried to address this issue, so that it can have uniformity amongst all faiths and cultures.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6466221.stm