The Karnataka government on Saturday extended the shutdown of pre-university colleges in the state till February 16 in view of unrest over the hijab ban controversy, PTI reported. State Higher Education Minister CN Ashwathnarayan, however, said online examinations will be held as per schedule.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressed confidence that peace and normalcy will prevail, according to PTI.

Bommai said he has asked the education minister to submit a report after examining the situation regarding the reopening of pre-university colleges. “Based on the assessment a meeting will be
held and a decision will be taken,” he said, according to PTI.

On February 8, Karnataka had ordered all high schools and colleges in the state to be shut between till Friday, as tensions escalated in educational institutions in several parts of the state. On February 10, Bommai had announced that schools till Class 10 will resume in Karnataka from February 14.

Over the past few days, Hindu students and mobs of men, often wearing saffron scarves, have protested against Muslim women wearing hijabs to educational institutes at several places in Karnataka. They heckled Muslim students, broke into classrooms, and in one case, climbed up a flagpole to put up a saffron flag.

Several groups and individuals, including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, have condemned the hijab ban.

The Karnataka High Court has directed students to not wear “religious clothes” till an order is passed on whether students should be allowed to cover their heads in hijabs in educational institutions. Students of the Government Women’s Pre-University College in Kundapura town of Udupi have filed a petition after they were not allowed to attend classes for being dressed in hijab.

Ahead of reopening of schools till Class 10, the district administration in Udupi imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Code Procedure in areas around all high schools. Under the section, assembly of five or more members around the school perimeter is not allowed.

Earlier, the Karnataka government also issued a series of directions to district administrations to maintain peace, PTI reported. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that district collectors and the superintendent of police have been instructed to visit campuses in sensitive areas.

“Action should be taken against the guilty, peace meetings should be held and the High Court order should be followed literally,” Jnanendra said, according to PTI. “Authorities should not budge to any pressure and even small incidents should be considered seriously.”

On Saturday, the police also conducted flag marches in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, The Indian Express reported.