Sikh students would be allowed to carry kirpans or daggers to school, following a recommendation by a parliamentary committee in Australia’s Victoria state. The move, however, has outraged school heads.The committee has also given a green signal for Muslim students to wear hijabs or veils in classrooms following a year-long inquiry into uniforms, which was tabled in the Victorian parliament on Wednesday.The Education and Training Committee recommended that all schools should accommodate clothing or other items that are religiously significant. Its asked schools to work with the Sikh community to allow male students to carry a kirpan, which is one of five articles of faith that Sikhs must carry.The committee found there were concerns from principals and teachers about students carrying the kirpan, which is hidden under the school uniform, but the item was important to the Sikh community.Victorian Association of State Secondary School Principals head Brian Burgess said kirpans should not be allowed in schools. “It is potentially very dangerous and should not be brought to school,” he said.“If it was misused, it could hurt kids. And it may not be the students that bring it to school, but others who know about it and misuse it,” Burgess was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper on Thursday. “You are talking about adolescent boys, adolescent students, bringing what is potentially a weapon to school. It is not necessarily about the Sikh students, any other students could grab (the knives),” Burgess said.The Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria did not want to comment on Wednesday but previously told the committee that only a small number or Sikhs carry the kirpan.
