The Gujarat government’s Education Department was rocked by a controversy last week, after it came to light that students of class X and class XII were specifically asked to identify their religion – but only if they were Muslim.
While filling out examination forms, students were asked to select whether they belonged to minority communities or not. If they said ‘yes’, the form then asks whether the student is ‘Muslim’ or ‘Other’.
The exam form in question has been in place since 2013, since the online form came into existence. Until the complaint by a parent last week, it seems nobody had noticed anything amiss. The Quint spoke with Gujarat school principals and the Principal Secretary of the Gujarat education board to find out how it happened.
Anisa Shaikh, principal of FD Girls School in old Ahmedabad, said that the online examination form filling system has been in place for five years. How did schools miss it?
“Earlier, these forms were filled by the admin department of the school and we only got the printouts of the list. Even we had no idea that the minority option on the form shows ‘Muslims’ and ‘Others’. We thought all options for minorities are open.”
“It is true that Muslims are the largest minority group in the state, but that doesn’t mean that we should be identified in such a manner, when other minorities are just being classified as Others. Otherwise, there isn’t any problem as such. So far none of the students’ parents have come to us with their concerns.”Anisa Shaikh, Principal, FD Girls School, Ahmedabad
‘All These Forms Are Filed by Clerks’
Seema Nermeti, Principal of Shama School in Ahmedabad, explained it this way:
“Even in my school we missed this, because all these forms were filed by the clerks in our admin department. Most of our students come from Gujarati medium. Usually their parents get the forms filled out by the guys who run the local cybercafé, where no one is keen to check what information is being fed in. The parents too are unaware because they may have a problem understanding the language,” Nermeti said.
“This conveys an extremely wrong message. Why are we bifurcating minorities as Muslims and Others? Educated parents will be very concerned. The education minister has told local media that corrections will be made and the error in data collation will be rectified. He also said that this issue was not brought up until now, which is also true since most of the students and parents are filling out the forms from cyber cafés.”Seema Nermeti, Principal, Shama School, Ahmedabad
Education Dept Says It’s ‘Nothing Unusual’, Data Is Safe
One of the main issues with the online form is that it brings back memories of the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which many Muslim homes and establishments were targeted by the mob, who had then referred to the census data.
With over 1.7 million students gearing up to take the board exams next year, parents of Muslim students worry that the data could be misused in the future.
Principal Secretary (Higher & Technical Education) Anju Sharma, echoes what Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had said in an interview to Ahmedabad Mirror, in which he claimed there is nothing unusual about the Gujarat boards forms in particular, and that no complaints had previously been received.
“This is not something unusual and peculiar to Gujarat board. The online process has started in 2013 and no one raised any flag about this matter until now. Our education minister has assured that he will look into the issue ever since it has cropped up.”Anju Sharma, Principal Secretary (Higher & Technical Education)
About the safety of the data of Muslim students, Sharma told The Quint:
“The data will always be protected, there is no need to tense up about the information that has been collected so far as it has been retained by the department. Our minister has already said that he will give the whole matter a fresh look and take a decision accordingly in consultation with the concerned stakeholders and the board.”Anju Sharma, Principal Secretary (Higher & Technical Education)
But even if no complaints had been lodged before, how did Gujarat’s Education Department entirely miss that only Muslim students were being asked to specify their religion?
The Quint reached out to state Education Minister Chudasama for an answer several times, with no response.
PIL Filed in HC against Religious Profiling
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the state government on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging ‘religious profiling’ of Muslim candidates appearing for the board examinations.
Petitioner K R Koshty claimed every candidate applying online for Class 10 and 12 board examinations for 2019 has been asked to specify whether he or she is Muslim.
The PIL also challenged the government's decision to accept the forms online, saying that Internet connectivity in many parts of the state is poor. Further, the forms seek Aadhaar details which is against the Supreme Court's recent judgement, it said.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav sought replies from the state government, Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by 6 December.
(with input from PTI)
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