What happened: On Feb 3, over 20 females from the Government Pre University College in Kundapur, Karnataka’s Udupi district, were barred entry in their college by their teachers for wearing hijab and niqab. Back story: The hijab ‘ban’ in Kundapur comes after a PU college in Udupi prohibited students from wearing the headscarf in the classroom. These students have been denied access to their classrooms for over a month. Recent: While closing the gates for the Muslim students , college principal, Ramakrishna, told the girls that ‘he was just following government’s orders by barring their,’ adding that he’d allow their entrance if they uncover their heads. A student’s account: The female students were outraged by the action and wondered why such a rule was suddenly implemented as one of them reported, “The institution held a conference on the previous day to persuade Muslim parents to bring their children to school without wearing the head scarf. They were, however, unconvinced.” What’s next: The College Development Monitoring Committee, chaired by MLA Shetty, made the decision to ban hijab, putting the college administration in a pickle. Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court will hear a petition filed by a student at the Udupi pre-university government ladies college next week, asking for directives to enable Muslim students to wear hijab to school.