Philippines government ‘strongly suggest’ Muslim teachers remove hijab in class
In a new Philippines Department of Education order, “Strengthening the Protection of Religious Rights of Students”, government officials outline new guidelines concerning the wearing of the headdress for students and teachers.
The Education department says concerning female Muslim students, the girls should be allowed to wear the hijab, or veil inside school campus.
In addition, Muslim girls should be allowed to wear appropriate clothing, in accordance with religious beliefs, in Physical education classes.
However, the teacher is requested to remove the headdress while teaching in the classroom.
“In support of effective language teaching, recognition and discrimination of letters and their sounds are enhanced. Lip formation significantly helps in the correct production of the letter sounds,”according to the order.
It also allows for proper identification of teachers by students, promoting a better relationship.
Female Muslim teachers are allowed to wear the veil outside the classroom.
The education department in the predominately Catholic country also says in the order that “Muslim students shall not be required to participate in non-Muslim religious rites”.
According to a onislam.com report, “Hearing about the new decision, the government’s Office of Muslim Affairs said it agreed with the education department’s measures.”
Government officials have no idea what hijab means to individuals.