Goa, Oct. 15 -- Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Tuesday directed a Christian-run private school in Kochi to allow a Muslim girl to continue her education while wearing her religious headscarf (hijab). The move comes after the school had earlier barred the student from attending classes in the hijab, causing her mental distress and sparking widespread attention.

The incident involved St Rita's Public School, Palluruthy, which had declared a two-day holiday on Monday following an escalation of the dispute between the school authorities and the student's parents.

In his statement, Minister Sivankutty instructed the school management to address the mental distress caused to the student and her family and submit a detaile...