Losing face

Muslim girls will be able to wear face-covering veils in UK schools as long as their headteacher says it’s OK, according to new guidelines.

The government has fallen short of a ban, saying it’s up to heads, who, says the government, “may be justified” in outlawing the veils, known as niquabs.

Both the sober Jurist and the British tabloid Daily Star are among those reporting the story today. The Star says:

If a pupil’s face is obscured, teachers may not be able to check they are paying attention or ensure they are taking part in class discussions, it says. But the pitfall is the guidance also makes it clear that there is no automatic right to ban veils.

That means schools could still face a legal challenge over any such ban on garments such as the niqab, which covers the entire face apart from a slit for the eyes.

The guidelines follow a series of court cases in which pupils complained schools were illegally preventing them from wearing religious clothes.

Continuing its policy of pandering to the superstitious, the government wants uniform rules to have some regard to human-rights legislation concerning religion, says the paper.

The new guidelines were announced by the Schools Minister, Jim Knight.