The Principal Secretary for Basic Education Prof Julius Bitok was on the receiving end yesterday after MPs took him on following an incident at St Mary’s Lwak Girls Secondary school, where a Grade 10 learner was kicked out of school for wearing hijab, a clothing reserved for the Muslim faithful.
Prof Bitok, appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly, had a difficult time as the parliamentarians demanded the immediate readmission of the learner at the school in Siaya County.
PAC chairperson Tindi Mwale (Butere) directed Prof Bitok to take up the matter and ensure that the learner gets back to school, even as investigations get underway, noting the constitution abhors discrimination on account of religion.
“The student should go back to school immediately. There is no way she can continue to be out of school while others are learning,” Mr Mwale said of the matter that has triggered public uproar.
Hijab, derived from the Arab world, is a headscarf worn by Muslim women and girls to cover their hair and neck while leaving the face visible, and represents a holistic code of modesty that encompasses clothing, behaviour, and speech for both men and women.
Principal Secretary for Basic Education Prof Julius Bitok.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Many Muslims consider it a mandatory act of worship and an expression of devotion to God, the supreme creator of mankind, according to the Bible and the Quran.
Hijab also applies to men and boys, requiring them to cover from the navel to the knee and to maintain modest behaviour such as “lowering the gaze.”
Prof Bitok assured the members that he would resolve the matter to ensure that the learner gets back to school. This, even as he told the committee that the matter is complicated, as the information he had received from the county director of education and the school management is conflicting, and that “thorough investigations are required to get to the bottom of the matter.”
“I promise to ensure that the pupil gets back to school as soon as possible,” said PS Bitok as he sought “a bit of time to deal with this matter.”
However, the committee members faulted the response, with Mr Mwale wondering, “PS, who is preventing you from making a decision that the girl should go back to school because it is not right that she is still at home. It is against the law and the constitution to deny a learner the right to admission because of their religious beliefs.”
The PS had appeared before the House committee to respond to a special audit on capitation and utilisation of infrastructure grants in schools.
Muslim women clad in hijabs. A Grade 10 learner was kicked out of school for wearing a hijab, a clothing reserved for the Muslim faithful.
Photo credit: Kanyiri Wahito | Nation Media Group
However, the committee proceedings took a twist after Garissa County Woman Representative Amina Udgoon, on order or urgency, demanded that the PS clarify the matter.
Ms Udgoon narrated to the committee how Samira Ramadhan, a Grade 10 learner, was forced back home over the hijab.
“There is an incident that has been reported at St Mary's Lwak Girls in Siaya where a Muslim student who has joined Grade 10 was refused to wear her hijab,” said Ms Udgoon.
St Mary's Lwak Girls' High School in Rarieda, Siaya County.
Photo credit: File
“Despite being assured when she was joining that she could wear the hijab, Samira Ramadhan is now unable to continue with her studies. I would like to know what the PS is doing about that?” posed the lawmaker.
The lawmaker from Garissa County narrated to the committee that apart from Ramadhan’s, there was also a similar case at Alliance Girls High School, Kiambu County.
At this point, the PAC members protested the decision by the school management with Rarieda MP Dr Otiende Amollo, and in whose constituency the school is located, noting that the matter needs to be addressed urgently.
“This matter is very weighty. It is not about the law, as it is clear. It is about coming up with a policy on it,” said Dr Amollo.
Teso South MP Mary Emase also weighed in, saying that “it is wrong for any school to deny any learner admission because of religion, yet the law is clear that no one should be discriminated against based on religion.”
