Hijab not allowed, reiterates education minister as board exams to begin from Mar 28

News Network

March 27, 2022

Bengaluru, Mar 27: Amid the hijab controversy, Karnataka state board examinations for 10th standard will begin on Monday. The state government has made it clear that hijab would not be allowed in classrooms during exams even as several Muslim girls had said they would boycott the exams if they were not allowed to wear the head scarf.

More than 8.76 lakh students are appearing for the exam in over 40,000 halls in 3,440 centres across the state.

"After the high court order, we've not allowed that (hijab). We've given clarification that they (students with hijab) can come into the campus wearing the hijab but they cannot put it on in the classroom. The same condition will apply during the exams," Primary and Secondary Education Minister B.C. Nagesh said.

The minister had earlier warned the students against skipping the exams, saying there would not be any re-examination.

"According to the Karnataka Education Act and the Rules, religious sentiments should not be part of the uniform dress rule. The same notification, the HC has upheld. Tomorrow, there is no scope of violation of the dress code," Nagesh said.

Several Muslim girls at a college in Udupi had boycotted classes and skipped practical exams after they were denied permission to wear hijab.

On March 15, the Karnataka High Court dismissed a batch of petitions filed by students and maintained that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam.

The high court order has been challenged in the Supreme Court while a section of Muslim girls continues to boycott classes and has indicated about skipping the board exams.

Arguing that hijab is as important as education, the students said they would not return to colleges until they get permission to wear the headscarf.

The high court, while ruling out the students’ petitions, maintained that there was no material placed on record to prima facie show that wearing the headscarf was an essential religious practice.

Underlining that no reasonable mind can imagine a school without uniform, the court also observed that the concept of school uniform is not of a nascent origin.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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