Over a half-dozen girl students at an Uttar Pradesh school are resisting a campus ban on the hijab, an issue that has led to court cases elsewhere in the country.

Since Monday, the girls have been coming to the gates of the Bilhaur Inter College, Kanpur district, and then returning home because the school refuses to let them in unless they take off the face veil.

Principal Surjit Singh Yadav of the Bilhaur school told The Telegraph over the phone that wearing the hijab flouted the school dress code and that a woman teacher had on August 3 reminded the girls about it. When the students refused to listen, they were taken to the principal.

“The parents came to us and promised the problem would not arise again. But I don’t know what transpired thereafter that they are again raising this issue,” he said.

Many schools that teach up to Class XII in Uttar Pradesh are called inter-colleges. Bilhaur Inter College is affiliated to the state board.

“Muslim girls have been studying here since the school opened 64 years ago. The dress code was decided about 20 years ago but the girls were allowed to wear a veil,” a girl student of Class XII said, requesting anonymity.

The principal claimed the students had been following the dress code ever since it was decided.

Girl students of Classes VI to VIII are to wear a white shirt and a white skirt, while girl students of the humanities (Classes IX to XII) are expected to wear white salwar-kurta.

Girls studying science (Classes IX to XII) have to wear a dark green salwar and a light green kurta. The boys wear white shirts and khaki pants.